One Piece: The Agony of Weakness
by SilverWrath
Summary: Luffy has to face an agony that he has never felt before: true weakness. Can Nami help him before he does something that they will regret for the rest of their lives?
1. Chapter 1: Paradise in the New World

One Piece: The Agony of Weakness

_Hello everyone. Here is my second story. This one will be longer than the first one and I am being more cautious about the content his time. No need to repeat the problems from the last story. _

_Anyway, this is another Luffy x Nami romance story based post Timeskip. Enjoy._

_-SilverWrath_

**Discaimer:**** I do not own One Piece or any of it's characters.**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

It was a warm and sunny afternoon in the New World. The ship of the Straw Hat Pirates, the Thousand Sunny, bobbed up and down gently as it waited patiently in the calm waves. It had been a few weeks since the Straw Hats had departed from Fishman Island and they were just becoming familiar with the strange weather in the New World. The whole crew had been on high alert watching for any signs of danger. Today however, they crew had decided to take a short break and anchor off the coast of a small island.

The island they found was barely an island at all. It was more of a group of large rocks that were sticking out of the water. In truth, the Thousand Sunny was larger than most of the rocks, but that didn't matter. The weather was warm and stable. This was the perfect place to rest.

Monkey D. Luffy, the young captain of the Straw Hats, was standing on the grass lawn of his ship. He was gazing off across the sea daydreaming about the adventures that were waiting for him and his crew. This was the greatest sea in the world, with the strongest and most powerful people in it. He wanted to prove himself by conquering all of it and becoming the King of the Pirates.

As Luffy stood there day dreaming, he was snapped back to reality by a loud crash. It sounded like it had come from the shore. He walked over to the railing to see what was going on.

"Gah! Look what you did moss head!" Said Sanji, the smooth talking cook of the ship. He was on shore with a few other members of the crew.

"Hey shut up! It isn't my fault that your stupid grill is falling apart!" Yelled Zoro, the hotheaded swordsman.

"My grill isn't the problem! It's your moss covered brain! I don't know how you even think with that crap on your head!

Sanji and Zoro began arguing and Luffy couldn't help but laugh. Apparently, Sanji was planning on cooking BBQ for dinner that day. He had enlisted Zoro to help him bring his grill onto the shore so he could cook outside.

'Perfect! Sanji's BBQ is the best! I can't wait for my meat!' Luffy thought as the two men on shore began attacking one another. Luffy looked around to find the rest of his crew. The first person he found was Franky, the cyborg shipwright of the crew. He was kicked back leaning against the stairs drinking a bottle of cola. Next to him was the archaeologist of the crew, Robin. She was sitting in a lawn chair reading one of her many books. Her and Franky were talking about something but Luffy couldn't really make it out. He shrugged and scanned the rest of the ship. The sound of music floated onto the ship from the shore where Sanji and Zoro were fighting. There was the musician, the living skeleton Brook, was playing a tune for the two men to fight to. Brook was laughing hysterically as foot met blade. Nearby, begging the two men to stop fighting was the sniper of the crew, Usopp. His words were drowned out by Zoro and Sanji's yelling and Brook's song. Usopp yelled something about not encouraging them to fight but it too was drowned out. Luffy noticed that Chopper, the ship's doctor, was nowhere to be seen. 'Ehh he's probably in the doctor's office.' Luffy thought. 'Chopper has been talking about rearranging all of his medicine stuff for a while now.'

Luffy was so enthralled with observing his crew that he didn't notice the young woman standing next to him. She had finished working on the maps of Fishman's Island and been standing next to him for some time. She was leaning against the railing just watching Luffy with a smile on her face. She was waiting for her absent minded captain to notice her, but clearly that wasn't going to happen. She sighed and slipped her fingers in between his holding his hand gently. This caught Luffy's attention and he looked over at her, the orange haired navigator, Nami.

"I swear you are so scatterbrained you know that?" Nami asked as she stood up and kissed Luffy on the cheek. His face turned bright red from the unexpected kiss. Nami giggled. "You didn't even know I was here." A large grin spread across Luffy's face.

"Of course I did!" He exclaimed turning towards her.

"Oh? And how long was I standing here?" Luffy went silent for a moment trying to think. Nami smiled again and shook her head. "That's okay. I wanted to sneak up on you anyway." Luffy looked confused.

"Why?" He asked innocently. Nami leaned forward and kissed Luffy on the cheek again. After a few seconds she broke away and giggled.

"To do that." Nami said sweetly. Luffy shook his head smiling.

"That wasn't a very good kiss Nami. I want a better one than that." Nami shook her head teasing her captain.

"Oh no. That's all you get for today. I am far too busy to-" Her sentence was cut off by Luffy gently pressing his lips against hers. Nami slowly closed her eyes savoring every second of this kiss. She released Luffy's hand and slid her arms around his neck leaning into the kiss. She loved Luffy and he loved her. He was her captain. 'That's right,' she thought as Luffy wrapped his arms around her waist holding her against him. 'MY captain.'

The two love birds did not go unnoticed. Just about everyone, except Chopper, was looking on and smiling at the pair. Even Sanji, who had begrudgingly accepted their feelings for one another, was smiling. He "loved" Nami the same way he loved every woman he met. But he respected Luffy enough to deal with losing her to him. He wasn't happy, but he still had Robin to swoon over. They knew that the pair had been in love for some time and they were all used to the occasional make out session.

After about a minute, Luffy broke the kiss and let go of Nami.

"Okay. I'm happy now." He said with a big grin. Nami's arms slid down from Luffy's neck and looked into his eyes. She returned his grin with her own smile.

"Good. I'm glad." She realized that her own face had turned red from his kiss. She didn't mind. She pretended to be annoyed. "But that's all. You don't get any more kisses today." She turned around and walked away. "You don't get to steal kisses for free whenever you want." Luffy chuckled.

"Sure Nami, whatever you say. But I know you love it." He said pulling his straw hat off of his head. Nami stopped walking and smiled. She did and she knew it. Luffy could be incredibly sweet and romantic when he wanted to. But he didn't act like that all the time. That was fine with Nami. Frankly, if he WAS like that every time he saw her, she would never be able to get anything done. Most of the time, he treated her just like everyone else: just a friend. And Nami loved that about him more than anything. Luffy's friendship was precious to her, almost as much as their romantic relationship. Above all else, she was the Navigator of the ship. If she was distracted by flirting with Luffy all the time, it could be disastrous for the ship and its crew. She couldn't let that happen.

However, when the ship wasn't moving, she could do whatever she wanted.

"Maybe I do, and maybe I don't." She said with a shy smirk on her face. "I'm not telling you." Luffy laughed.

"That's fine." He extended his arm and planted his hat firmly on her head. "You don't have to." Nami turned around in time to see him flash her a large grin and he jump off the side of the ship landing on shore. Her hand rose to the hat now placed on her head. Luffy's straw hat. His most precious possession. Nami knew that no one else in the crew was allowed to wear Luffy's iconic hat. Whenever he put it on her head, she made sure to flaunt it like it was the latest fashion accessory. She wasn't sure if anyone was jealous or not, but she did it anyway. Feeling that simple hat on her head made her feel so safe and happy. She walked back to the railing to watch Luffy harass Sanji.

"SANJI! I WANT MEAT! IM HUNGRY!" Luffy yelled as he ran towards the cook who had begun picking up the pieces of his grill. Sanji glanced at Luffy.

"I would have it done already if SOMEONE HADN'T DROPPED MY GRILL." He yelled in Zoro's direction.

"What you want to go again Eye Brows?!" Said Zoro as he drew one of his swords. I'll kick your ass as many times as you want! Bring it on!" Just as the two were about to fight again a voice floated down from the Sunny.

"Sanji. Could you please get dinner started?" Nami called in the sweetest voice possible. She was leaning over the railing where her and Luffy were before. "I'm getting hungry." Sanji, now completely ignoring the growling swordsman, spun over to the where his grill pieces were sitting.

"As you wish Nami-swan!" The cook said with hearts in his eyes. "Oi you two!" He pointed at Brooke and Usopp. "Stop standing there and help me get this thing set back up. Nami can't wait forever!" As the three men picked up the grill and began getting it ready, Luffy glanced up to the deck where Nami was still leaning. He smiled at her and she winked at him. Nami stood back up and walked out of his view. With a grin on his face Luffy rushed over to find out how long he had to wait until dinner was ready.

* * *

The crew decided to eat on top of the tallest rock they could find Unfortunately, the top of the rock was not flat enough for the entire crew to sit comfortably. This problem was quickly fixed by Zoro who cut off the top of the rock. The crew began setting up a picnic style BBQ on the top of the recently sliced rock. Once everything was ready they all went up to eat. To everyone's surprise, Luffy and Nami did not sit next to each other as they usually did. Instead, Luffy sat by Usopp, Franky, Sanji and Chopper listening to Usopp talk about fighting a giant rock monster that, when he killed it, became this small island. Nami, still sporting the straw hat, decided to let him have some guy time and took a seat by Robin and Zoro. As she sat down, she noticed Robin and Zoro looking at her with concerned looks on their faces. Nami decided to confront them.

"What? Am I not allowed to sit on this side of the table?" A sense of realization came over Nami and she got a sly grin on her face. She had suspected those two of having something, but she hadn't seen them together too often "Aww am I interrupting something?" Zoro's face turned red and he turned away to look in the opposite direction. Robin laughed.

"No no don't worry about that Miss Navigator. I am more concerned about you." Zoro made a sound still facing the other direction.

"Yeah, shouldn't you be clinging to Luffy?" Nami spun around and punched Zoro in the back of the head. "Ouch! Hey that hurt!"

"I do not cling jackass." Nami snapped. She turned back to Robin. "There's nothing to worry about. He's listening to Usopp. I figure I can't take up all of his time." Zoro made another noise.

"Clingy." Muttered Zoro quietly. Not quietly enough as he was punched again by Nami.

"Watch your mouth Zoro. Next time I'll kick your ass off this rock and you can swim to the next island. I am not clingy." She growled angrily. Her anger subsided as she realized felt the straw hat get pulled off of her head and she realized someone was standing next to her.

"Clingy? Who's that? He sure has a funny name." Luffy chuckled as he plopped down next to Nami straw hat in hand. Her face immediately turned red as she heard his voice. She hadn't expected Luffy to leave Usopp and the others guys to come sit with her. Seeing Nami's reaction, Robin quickly spoke up.

"No one Captain. It's a term for someone who spends too much time with someone else." Robin snickered as Nami shot her an annoyed glance. Luffy thought about this for a moment.

"Oh I see." Luffy placed his hat back on his head. "So Zoro is clingy to you?" Robins face turned even redder than Zoro's and Nami laughed. Even Zoro had to laugh. "Hey what's so funny?" Luffy asked a bit annoyed. Nami snatched his hat back and set it back on her head. She grabbed Luffy's arm and pulled him closer to her. She laid her cheek on his shoulder with a big smile on her face. The innocence behind that question was absolutely adorable and she loved it.

"Nothing Luffy nevermind." Nami said with a giggle. Luffy still had a confused look on his face.

"Nami?" She lifted her head looked up at him. "If that's what clingy means, am I clingy?" Nami got a slightly annoyed look on her face and sighed as he continued speaking. "I mean, I like to be near you a lot and I am just wondering if-" Nami stole Luffy's trick from earlier and cut him off mid-sentence with a short kiss.

"Shush. No you're not clingy." She smiled at him. "You are only clingy if I don't want you to be around and I love being around you. " She laid her head back on his shoulder. "Now stop asking stupid questions like that." Luffy smiled and snatched his hat back from her again. He then laid his head on hers. After a few moments, Luffy had an idea. He stood up, much to Nami's disappointment. "Hey, what are you doing?" she asked confused.

"I have an idea just trust me." She trusted him so she didn't object. He scooped her up in his arms and walked over to the edge of the rock facing the setting sun. He sat her down gently and sat down next to her. Their legs hanging over the edge of the rock, Luffy took his original position with her head on his shoulder and his head on her head. The pair sat their watching the sunset together completely ignoring the smiling glances of their friends. They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours.

All of a sudden something large and metal pushed down on Luffy's head. "Hey hey hey hey what the?" He looked up to see Franky looking down at them.

"Hey lovebirds," He said. "We should probably be heading back to the Sunny. Everything is put away and it's getting dark. Plus you're on watch tonight Luffy." Nami and Luffy nodded and stood up, still holding hands.

"Right let's go" Luffy said as everyone started walking back to the Sunny. Luffy and Nami's hands never broke apart until they got back to the Sunny. Nami decided to steal one last kiss before she disappeared into the woman's dormitory. Luffy vowed to get her back in the morning and he wandered away. He walked out onto deck and jumped onto his favorite seat on top of the Lion figurehead. It was his turn to keep watch while everyone else went to bed. He sat down on the lion head and listened to a commotion coming from the men's dormitory. He laughed as the sounds died down and very fell sleep. Silence enveloped the ship and Luffy leaned back to listen to the sound of waves breaking against the hull.

* * *

The Navy scientist looked at the vial of light blue liquid in front of him. He turned to his colleague who was talking into the transponder snail. After a few moments of listening to the conversation, he watched his colleague hang up the receiver.

"So this is it?" Asked the first scientist.

"Yeah. We just got our order from Navy Headquarters. This is the stuff we need to test. A side effect of Dr. Vegapunk's most recent experiment." The second scientist said. The two men looked at the light blue liquid for a moment before the first scientist spoke up.

"The doctor said he considers it a poison, a very dangerous poison. Apparently, when Fleet Admiral Akainu heard about this discovery, he wanted it mass produced. But the doctor would only provide one vial of it." The first scientist picked up the vial and turned towards the second. "And the Fleet Admiral wants this tested right away?" The second scientist nodded.

"He wants it and its effect on live subjects documented immediately. Unfortunately The Doctor would not test it on live subjects. Something about being unethical and unstable. However, if this stuff does what Dr. Vegapunk said it would, then this will be a game changing weapon in the battle against pirates with devil fruit powers. Even most the 4 emperors wouldn't be able to stand against this.

"In that case, we should begin the process immediately. Is our prisoner here from Impel Down?" The first scientist called to the guards by the door.

"Yes Sir. He arrived this morning. We can bring him in whenever you want." The guard saluted.

"Excellent." The second scientist snickered. "Then we can administer the poison whenever we wish." The first scientist nodded in agreement. The second scientist continued speaking.

"We only have enough of the poison for one test. The Fleet Admiral has already chosen his first target. He already has ships out scouting trying to find it. He wants this stuff ready in 3 days "

"Already?!" Exclaimed the first scientist. "We don't even know if this stuff is stable. Who's the target?" The second scientist gave an evil smirk.

"Why, none other than a member of the infamous Straw Hat Pirates…"

* * *

**End Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2: The Navy Scouts

**One Piece: The Agony of Weakness:**

**Chapter 2: **

* * *

It was well past midnight as Luffy stood on the deck of the Thousand Sunny near the figurehead. He had grown bored of the constant silence decided that he was going to screw around with the mast for a while. He looked up at the horizontal pole of the mast that supported the sail. He had a plan to hang off the mast and bounce like a yoyo. He stood at the bottom of the mast and pulled his fist back. He aimed carefully as to not damage the sail or hit the crow's nest. If he damaged anything Franky would kick his ass and he didn't want that. He braced his feet and threw a punch straight into the sky. His arm sailed straight up and wrapped around the mast.

"Gotcha." He said aloud. "Alright, next..." He pushed off of the deck with his feet and shot straight into the air. He sailed past the spot where his hand held onto the mast and flew into the sky. When his arm extended as far as it could he braced himself. He knew that he had pushed off with too much strength and he knew what was going to happen next. "Crap, this is going to hurt." As his arm retracted he shot straight back down like a bullet. He watched as the deck came closer and closer and closed his eyes right before impact. He slammed into the deck with enough force to crack the Adam wood floor. The crash he made as he hit echoed across the ship. He laid there among the broken wood for a few moments before sitting up and laughing. "Ah crap. Franky is going to be pissed." He laughed again and stood up to dust himself off. "Oh well. Maybe he won't notice." Luffy shrugged as he walked away from the broken floor. He hopped on one foot down the stairs past the doors to the dormitories and onto to the grass lawn.

He walked over to the railing of the ship and looked out over the vast sea. It was good that it was his turn to keep watch. He couldn't have slept if he tried. All he wanted to do was set sail. There were so many adventures waiting for him that he couldn't stand it. His mind wandered back through his past adventures with his friends. Eventually his mind stopped at his older brother Ace. Luffy closed his eyes as he thought about what had happened at Marineford. It had scarred him more than he would ever admit to his crew, but Ace would have kicked his ass if he knew that Luffy was letting his death slow him down. A large grin spread across his face. "Don't worry Ace, I will keep my promise I made to you and Sabo." His mind drifted back to the three of them growing up. He grin grew larger as he thought about his brothers. He stood there for a few moments completely lost in thought. It didn't take him long for his thoughts to drift to Nami. He realized that the thought of her made him even happier than the thought of Ace and Sabo. He looked out over the water. "Man, I wish Nami had decided to stay up with me for a while." Luffy huffed.

* * *

Nami had been standing on the stairs watching Luffy for some time. She had been woken up by a loud crash above her and it only took her a few seconds to realize what it was. She had walked outside and leaned on the railing that overlooked the grass lawn. 'Of course that idiot would break something. All he had to do was stay awake and he can't even do that without causing collateral damage.' She thought taking in a breath of the cool night air 'What the hell was he even doing to have broken the floor like that?' She watched him hop down the stairs on one foot like a child and she couldn't help but smile. She was surprised that he hadn't seen her. He had practically hopped right past her. She hadn't decided if she was going to follow him down or not. She would have loved Luffy's company for a while but he would have eventually told her to go back to bed. It was obvious that he loved watch duty, especially when everyone else was asleep. Even before they had been separated, he had always volunteered for watch whenever he could. Nami guessed that this was because he could protect all of them while they slept.

She had spent her fair share of nights out on watch with him. It always ended up with her falling asleep next to him and waking up the next morning with a hat on her head and an arm around her. Every time she woke up he was there watching over her. They lived a life of constant danger and they were always at risk. Nami knew as long as Luffy was standing, he would never let anything hurt her. She decided that despite how much she wanted to wake up in his arms again, she wouldn't bother him. Oddly enough he seemed lost in thought and that didn't happen often. 'I wonder if he is thinking about me...' She whispered aloud. She stood against the railing for what seemed like hours watching Luffy.

Nami decided that it was time to head back in and get some sleep. It was getting late. She pulled herself away from the railing and walked back into the women's dormitory. As she closed the door she leaned against it. She stood there for a few seconds before standing up and walking to her bed. Suddenly a voice pierced the quiet darkness and scared Nami half to death.

"I didn't expect to see you back in here tonight, Miss Navigator." For some reason Robin's smooth tone gave Nami the impression that she was mocking her. Nami went to shake her head, but realized that it was a useless gesture in the pitch black darkness of the room. "You aren't going to stay outside with Luffy?"

"No. Don't get me wrong, I want to but..." Nami paused as she sat down on the edge of her bed and looked back to the door she had closed moments before. Robin spoke again before Nami could continue.

"You don't want to seem clingy?" Now Nami knew Robin was picking on her. She scoffed.

"Yeah right. I'm not clingy like you and your boyfriend." Nami couldn't see Robin, but she was willing to bet that comment had turned the older woman's face red. "Anyway no it's just he's in his own little world out there and I don't want to bother him." Nami's eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness and she could vaguely see the older woman sitting up in her bed. After a moment Robin giggled.

"For some reason, I don't think he would mind if you bothered him. Our Captain is a very sociable person. I bet he would like the company, especially if that company was you." Robin's silhouette laid back down. Nami chose to do the same.

"No, not tonight." Nami said as she closed her eyes. "I'll leave him alone." She had just started to fall back asleep when Robin's voice broke the silence once again.

"You know, he's not going to walk up here and carry you out of bed to sleep with him on deck?" Nami's felt her face burning a little.

"I know that!" She snapped before rolling over and drifting off to sleep. As she laid there waiting for sleep to take her, a thought lingered in her mind. 'I wouldn't mind if he did...'

* * *

Luffy laid in the grass staring up into the sky. Thinking about his brothers had put into a sour mood but that was nothing that thinking about Nami couldn't fix. He couldn't protect Ace or Sabo but he would die before he let anything like that happen to his any of his friends. That's why he had to leave them for two whole years. It was the hardest thing he had ever done, but it was worth it. Luffy lifted one hand into the air and made a fist. He was strong, but he still wanted to be stronger. His duel with Admiral Aokiji drifted into his mind and Luffy sighed. "Too bad Ice-guy had to quit being a marine. I would have liked to fight him again." Luffy smiled and leapt to his feet. 'Oh well, there are plenty of other really strong guys to fight here in the New World.

As Luffy looked over the horizon again, something caught his eye. "What's that? I don't think that was there before." He looked at the strange object in the distance. It didn't take him long to figure out what it was. It was a ship and it was heading straight for the Sunny. As the ship drew closer, Luffy could make out the iconic Sea Gull and the large printed words on the sails. "Crap the marines!" He glanced over the Dorms. He had to decide right now: did he wake everyone up, or did he deal with this problem himself. It only took a few seconds for him to make his choice.

He ran to the railing the ship facing the approaching marine ship. When he reached the railing he saw two more ships flanking the first. They knew where the Sunny was. Luffy grabbed the railing and hopped backwards. "I'm not going to let you damn marines disturb my friends. They deserve their sleep!" He hopped again and felt his back hit the railing opposite of his hands. 'Dammit, if they get too close, they will start firing at us. I have to stop them before they get that close!' He stepped over the railing and braced his feet against the outer hull of the ship.

"Now! **GUM GUM**..." He said aloud. He couldn't yell too loud for fear of waking everyone up. Using his feet, he pushed off of the hull with all of his strength jumping away from the Sunny. His arms retracted pulling him towards the first rail. He flew over the grass lawn and over the railing before rocketing towards the marine ships. "**ROCKET!**" The marine ships were almost close enough to the Sunny to open fire. Luffy had to stop them before they had the chance.

Luffy slammed into the deck of the lead ship, smashing through the first deck, reducing it to splinters and sending marines flying in all directions. He stood up surrounded by debris and dazed marines. They could have easily surrounded him but he didn't care. At first the marines didn't even notice that Luffy had landed on the ship. The entire crew was in a panic from having half of their ship destroyed. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Luffy yelled as he stuck his thumb into his mouth. He bit down on it piercing his skin. "I gotta crush these guys before they know what hit 'em and move to the next ship." The marines began to rally and prepared to engage Luffy. Too late.

"**Third Gear!**" Luffy shouted as he blew air into his thumb. His fist grew as large as a giants and Luffy smiled. He forced the air into his body and then down into his foot. "This is what happens when you try to mess with my crew!" Luffy's now giant foot shot straight up into the air. "**GUM GUM GIANT AXE!**" Luffy shouted as he brought his foot back down with all of his strength. His giant foot pulverized the already wounded ship. His foot broke through all of the decks and smashed through the bottom of the ship. Luffy pulled his foot back up quickly. Marines fell into the water screaming as other called for a retreat. Luffy tuned and found his next target.

Luffy leapt towards the second ship. Unfortunately, the marines on this ship were ready for him.

As soon as Luffy was in the air, the marines opened fire. Multiple bullets slammed into Luffy but he laughed as every single shot bounced off his rubber body and was reflected back at the shooter. "Your bullets will never hurt me bastards!" Luffy shouted as he brought his giant foot into the air again. This time he imbued his foot with his armament haki, turning it an evil looking black. Marines screamed and scattered as Luffy's colossal foot moved above the ship. "I WON'T LET ANYONE NEAR MY CREW!" He screamed as his foot slammed into the second ship. The force of his attack plus the power of his haki broke the marine ship in half. Men screamed as they fell into the water or were crushed by Luffy's foot.

Luffy landed on the larger of the two broken pieces and released the air from Third Gear. "Alright one more to go." Luffy said as he knocked more marines into the sea with a flurry of swift punches. He turned around to face the remaining ship He jumped off the sinking ship in the direction of the final ship. He used the broken pieces of both ships to reach the third. As he approached the final ship he realized that there were no more bullets flying through the air around him. Instead, the crew of the final ship was standing on the deck just watching Luffy. As Luffy got closer he heard one of the marines speak.

"There he is men. Ready your rifles… Straw Hat Luffy!" The marine called. Luffy guessed that he was the captain of the ship. "You may be immune to regular bullets, but let's see if you're immune to this!" The captain aimed a pistol at Luffy and smiled. Luffy didn't give a damn what the captain was talking about. He had only one thing on his mind, sinking that ship. He saw the gun fire and he knew it was going to hit him. Luffy waited for the bullet to hit his body and get bounced like all the rest.

Instead, Luffy felt a tearing pain as the bullet pierced his shoulder. Luffy howled in pain and looked at his shoulder. There lodged in his skin, was a sharpened dart. It was metal and about an inch long. One end was sharpened into a razor like point. These bullets wouldn't bounce off. It reminded him of the darts Don Krieg used in the East Blue years ago. 'Shit, that's bad...' Luffy thought as he brought his fist back and imbued both of his hands with haki. If the marines fired off a volley of those, he wasn't sure what would happen. He had to get off his next attack before they decided to shoot him again. He leapt into the air just in time for the Marine captain to shout.

"All troops, fire at Straw Hat Luffy, send him falling into the sea!" With that order, the marines opened fire. Luffy couldn't wait any longer.

"**GUM GUM!** …ack!" Luffy was cut off mid attack as several darts pierced his chest and arms. He felt several waves of pain flow through his body. "This is nothing you bastards! You can't bring me down with darts! NOW **GUM GUM GATLING!**" Luffy screamed as he aimed punch after punch at the hull of the marine ship. His haki infused fists broke through the hull with each hit, splintering the outer hull in seconds. He gritted his teeth as the darts kept hitting him, but he forced his arms to keep moving. Punch after punch slammed into the ship and marines went flying in all directions. None of this deterred the Marine captain.

"Don't stop men, he will fall to our shots long before he-" The captain was cut off as one of Luffy's attack hit him directly in the face.

"Shut the hell up! You're not helping!" Luffy shouted as he kept attacking the ship. With each attack, more and more of the ship exploded and fell into the water. Within seconds, the ship was reduced to rubble and the remaining marines were swimming for their lives. Luffy landed on the largest piece of the ship remaining and watched the marines swimming away. His breath was ragged and he knew he had taken a lot of damage. He looked down at his body. 13 darts stuck from his skin in different places but that didn't include the shots that hadn't stuck. He had a lot of grazed shots and even more wounds where the dart and fallen out already. Each one had pierced pretty deep, and every wound was bleeding. "Damn that hurt. Stupid marines. What the hell is with these darts anyway?" Luffy reached up and grabbed one. "Well only one thing to do now." He pulled on the first dart tearing it from his skin. As the dart separated from his skin, a trail of blood followed it. Following the trail, was a wave of pain. "Dammit, that hurt." He said as he tossed the dart and grabbed two more. Blood was starting to form a small puddle at his feet now. He sighed. "Well, this is going to sting, but I have to do this." Luffy gritted his teeth again as he pulled two darts from his skin, tossed them away and grabbed two more. He furiously began tearing the darts from his body, battling wave after wave of pain. After a few seconds, all of the darts were out of his skin and he sighed.

Luffy looked around satisfied with his victory so he decided it was time to get back to the Sunny. He grabbed the edge of the broken ship and jumped backwards away from the Sunny. He launched himself back towards the Sunny without a word.

As Luffy landed on the deck of the Sunny, he realized that the sun was starting to come up. He listened closely trying to determine if the short battle had woken anyone up. It didn't seem so. Luffy sighed happily. He had protected his crew from an ambush in the darkness of night and he was happy. He walked over the main mast, leaving a mall trail of blood behind him. He sat down on the seat that was near the bottom of the mast. His whole body was sore from the darts and he was ashamed that he hadn't stayed in Third Gear to deal with the final ship. 'Oh well, nothing I can do now. The others will be waking up soon.' He sat there and rested his head against the cool wood of the mast. His head was spinning. He had felt like this before and he knew it was from blood loss. He put his hand to his head and held it there. 'I'm fine' He thought with a smile. 'Chopper will have me fixed up in no time.' His thoughts faded to black as he fell forward and slammed into the deck of the ship with a soft thud.

* * *

Nami woke up early. The sun had barely risen and the entire crew was asleep. She smiled as she stood up. Since Luffy never came to carry her out of her bed, she decided to go out onto the deck and meet him. As she approached the door, she listened carefully for the sounds of Luffy out on deck. Hearing nothing she realized something. 'That nitwit probably fell asleep. It wouldn't be the first time he fell asleep on watch.' Nami giggled as she opened the door. She stepped out onto the deck and took in a deep breath of the fresh morning air. She stretched and scanned the ship for any sign of Luffy. Her eyes wandered along the sides of the ship but saw nothing. Her eyes stopped when she saw what looked like a trail of something starting from the side of the ship and leading towards the mast next to her. She leaned over the rail and looked down trying to figure out what Luffy had pulled onto the ship.

Her heart frozen when she looked down and saw Luffy laying in a small puddle of his own blood next to the mast. Her eyes widened and she was frozen in place. 'W..what happened?' She could barely make coherent thoughts as she gazed down upon his motionless body. Her heart jumped as Luffy let out a quiet cough.

"LUFFFY!"

* * *

The Navy scientists looked at each other as admiral Akainu walked out of the room. He had the bottle of light blue poison clutched in his hand.

Apparently, Straw Hat Luffy had destroyed three of the four ships sent to track him down. The forth had lagged behind the others and was spared from his attack. The scouts didn't even know that they had found the Straw Hats before they came under attack. The fleet admiral was not happy with the outcome. He was ready to form another group of battleships to go and attack the Straw Hats. The first scientist waited until the fleet admiral was out of the lab and the door was closed before he shook his head.

"I'm confused." The first scientist said. "He wants to disable one of the Straws Hats but it's not the captain?" The second scientist nodded.

"That's what he said." The second scientist shrugged. "It seems stupid to me. We only have enough of the poison for one attack and he's wasting it on one of the crew members?" The first turned around and answered as he walked away.

"Oh well, the fleet admiral knows best. I'm not going to say anything, are you?" The second scientist shook his head before walking towards the exit himself.

* * *

Fleet Admiral Akainu walked down the hall clenching the poison in his hand. As he stomped down the hallway, he was met by Admiral Kizaru. Kizaru was leaning against a wall, producing light with one of his fingers. The fleet admiral intended to stomp past the man but Kizaru stopped him with a question.

"Doesn't matter to me what you do, but you know you are wrong right?" The man of light said as he extinguished his light. The fleet admiral stopped and stood there glaring out from under his hat. Kizaru took the silence as an opportunity to speak again. "Don't get me wrong, it's a good plan, but my problem is with your chosen target. The member of the crew you are targeting is not that great of a theat." The fleet admiral turned around.

"The victim of this attack has the potential to be the most dangerous member of that crew. After speaking with your admirals, I believe all of our reports about them are wrong. There is no way that she could do what she does WITHOUT a devil fruit." Akainu snapped. Kizaru chuckled.

"Fleet admiral I have faced the crew myself. During my attack, the girl did nothing except scream and cry. She is not a threat and certainly does not have-" He was cut off by Akainu burning a hole in the wall with his magma.

"ENOUGH! There is no way a normal person can do what she does. Do you really expect me to believe she produces storm clouds and can control the weather with that staff?! That's ridiculous." Akainu growled. Kizaru laughed but before he could respond, Akainu began walking away. "She has the potential to be the most dangerous person on the crew. Clearly her bounty is a mistake. I will remove Cat Burglar Nami from the picture with this poison. After this poison enters her blood stream, she won't be a threat anymore."

"Ehhh whatever." Kizaru shook his head and laughed. Without another word, he bathed his body in light and disappeared from the hallway.

* * *

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3: Investigation and Realization

**One Piece: Agony of Weakness:**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Nami jumped over the railing and landed on the grass lawn a few feet away from Luffy. She jumped over to him and cradled his head in her arms. There was a lot of blood and Luffy looked pale. Nami was frozen and had no idea what she should do.

"Oh my god Luffy," Nami said as tears rolled down her face. She hugged Luffy's head holding it against her chest. "What happened? What did you do?" Nami's tears rolled off of her face and splashed onto Luffy. He didn't look like the same man that she had seen the night before.

A few members of the crew were already awake when Nami screamed. Franky, Usopp, Zoro and Chopper came busting out of the men's dorm as soon as they heard her. Seeing their unconscious captain laying in a pool of his own blood, Chopper reacted immediately.

"Franky, Zoro, carry him to the infirmary quickly." Chopper said as he made his way to his office. The two men tried to comply but Nami refused to let go of Luffy. She napped and the men as they tried to pick him up. Chopper stopped and looked at Nami. "Nami! Luffy's hurt. I need to treat him. If you don't let us take him he could die!" Nami obviously didn't want that. After a moment Nami let go of Luffy and Franky picked him up. As Franky carried Luffy away, Zoro looked at her. He could clearly see the agony and terror on her face. He had to say something.

"Nami, it will be okay. Chopper will take care of him." As the men walked towards the infirmary, Zoro called back. "You know he doesn't like it when you cry." Nami realized that her tears were pouring down her face. Zoro was right. Luffy wouldn't want to see her like this. As she watched the two men walking away with her Captain she decided that she didn't care and got up to follow them. As she stood up, a hand came down on her shoulder to stop her. Nami looked over to see Usopp Holding her shoulder.

"I don't think you should be in there right now. You will only be in Choppers way." Usopp said gently. Nami blinked not quite comprehending what Usopp had said. Her mind was spinning. All she wanted to do was follow them to the infirmary. Why wouldn't Usopp let her? Usopp saw that his words weren't getting through to her so he tried again. "Take a few minutes and calm down. Chopper will let us know when it's okay to see him. By this time everyone else had woken up and had come out onto deck. Sanji, already smoking a cigarette, was kneeling by the pool of blood on the floor.

"That's a lot of blood..." He said as he took a long drag off his cigarette. "Something serious went down out here last night." Nami was ignoring everyone as she looked at the blood. She stepped back towards it and fell down to her knees next to the pool. She just couldn't figure out where it had all come from. As her hand reached out to touch the blood, another hand appeared and stopped her. "Woah Nami-swan, don't mess with that." Sanji had grabbed her hand just before it reached the puddle. 'I don't think my dear sweet Nami needs to be out here right now. She's not thinking straight yet.' He turned to find someone who could take her to another part of the ship. His eyes turned into hearts as he saw Robin walking down the stairs to join the others on deck. "Rob-" She cut him off and went over to Nami. Robin looked at her.

Nami's eyes were completely unfocused and she was breathing heavily. She appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown. She guessed that Nami didn't even know they were there. The only thing that Nami knew was that Luffy was right there and now he wasn't. Robin shooed Sanji away as she kneeled down to calm the younger woman.

Sanji was a cocktail of emotions as he walked away. 'Damn the rudder idiot. He had to go and hurt himself just to make my Nami-swan worry about him.' He thought angrily. 'What the hell is he thinking? As soon as he gets back up I'm gonna kick his ass all over again.' Sanji thoughts were broken by Usopp's voice.

"Hey Sanji I could use your help." Sanji looked up to see Usopp and Brook walking around the deck. "We need to find out what happened and see if we are still in danger." That was a good point. Whatever the idiot was thinking getting himself hurt, Luffy was strong. Not just any old enemy would have been able to hurt him that badly. Sanji walked towards the center of the lawn.

"Alright. Let's look around for any evidence of a struggle. Whoever did this to Luffy didn't do it quietly." Sanji froze. 'Wait a second.' He thought in horror. 'How was there a fight of that caliber going on out here and none of us heard it? I know I would have woken up if I heard people fighting so close to Nami and Robin.' He glanced over to the women. They weren't on the deck. Robin and Nami were walking up the stairs to the kitchen. Nami looked a little better. She was a strong woman but walking out to see your lover in a puddle of their own blood would have shaken anyone. The two women walked into the kitchen and closed the door behind them. 'I'll run up there to make them something to eat before we continue.' Sanji thought as he took a step towards the kitchen. He paused. 'On second thought, Nami probably wouldn't be hungry.' Any further debate was interrupted by Brook.

"Hey Sanji! Usopp!" Sanji glanced over to see the skeleton pointing into the distance. "There's something over there. I don't remember it being there yesterday." Sanji walked over to the side of the ship where Brook was pointing. He was right; there was something in the distance. It looked like wood but Sanji wasn't sure. He stretched his legs.

"Alright. I'm jump over to take a look. I'll be back in a bit." Sanji said as he jumped into the air. Using his Sky Walk, he made his way over to the anomaly.

* * *

Nami and Robin sat down at the bar in the kitchen. Robin looked at the younger woman. She was a mess. Clearly, she was still in shock from finding Luffy and she wasn't talking. After a few minutes of silence, Nami turned her head and looked at Robin. "Do…we know what happened?" Nami said quietly as if she wasn't sure what she wanted to say. Robin shook her head. She was willing to answer any question Nami had if it meant she would actually communicate.

"No, I'm sorry. The boys are looking around, I'm sure they will find something." Robin said gently. Nami closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She spoke again, sounding more like herself.

"And Luffy? How's he doing?" She asked. She opened her eyes and Robin could see the fire of an enraged girlfriend in them. Nami was back. Robin shook her head again.

"We won't know anything until the Doctor comes back." Robin explained. Nami stood up.

"Fine. I'm going to help them. Those morons don't know what they are looking for and I want to know what happened." Nami said forcefully. Robin could hear the fear buried under her strong words, but choose not to stop her. Nami was on a mission, and in this situation, she wasn't going to be stopped. As Nami walked towards the door, Robin took this opportunity to see if she had any useful information.

"Nami, did you see anything while you were outside last night? Was anything out of the ordinary?" Nami stopped but didn't turn around. Neither woman made a sound for a few minutes. Robin was about to repeat her question when she heard the near silent sound of tears hitting the floor. Nami was crying again. Worse than before.

"N..No I..." Nami didn't speak again for a few seconds. Her hands went up to cover her face. Her knees gave out and she slumped to the floor crying again. As Robin got up to go over to her, Nami spoke again her words constantly interrupted by fits of sobbing. "It's my fault... If I had stayed out there with him… Maybe this wouldn't have happened..." Robin hesitated halfway to Nami. "This shouldn't be happening…He shouldn't be dying...All he wanted... was to protect us... but I...I wasn't there to protect him..." Robin was at a loss for words and stood in silence. "What have... What have I done... It's my fault!" Nami slammed her head down onto the wooden floor with a thud. Robin took a few steps towards the sobbing woman.

"No it isn't. I don't know what happened out there but you are not to blame, do you hear me?! Robin said forcefully. Nami broke down again sobbing louder than before. Robin's face filled with worry and she went over to comfort Nami. As she approached the younger woman, Robin realized that Nami wasn't even listening to her anymore. There was no point in talking to her at the moment. The only thing Robin could do was to comfort her until she recovered. And she intended to do just that.

* * *

As Sanji drew closer to the anomaly in the water he realized that it was in fact wood. He landed on one of the larger pieces floating in the water. The wreckage bobbed up and down as he landed on it. 'What the hell is all this?' Sanji thought as he walked over to the edge. He lit a cigarette and looked around noting all of the debris. 'It sorta looks like the remains of ships.' He saw something floating in the water. He bent over and picked it up. It was a hat. Sanji turned it over and looked at the front. He gasped and his cigarette fell out of his mouth. His blood ran cold as he read the word running across it. 'Marines?! When were the Marines here?!' He spun around and looked at the Sunny in the distance. At this range their cannons wouldn't have had a chance to hit the Sunny, but they weren't too far from firing range.

"What the hell is going on?" Sanji asked as looked at the hat. "There is no way marines could have been here when we anchored. Someone would have noticed them." Sanji stopped and looked back to the Sunny. 'Did they attack in the middle of the night? If they did, then Luffy...' Sanji tossed the hat back into the water and jumped over to another piece of wood smaller than the first. He had to investigate further. Sanji could believe that Luffy destroyed the ships in the dead of night to protect the crew. He had been with Luffy for a long time and knew that that is something he would do. But Luffy's wounds bothered him. They were circles, like bullets. 'Bullets can't hurt Luffy. But what else could have made those wounds?' He landed on the next piece. This piece was obviously part of a top deck. Part of the railing was still intact. Sanji looked around and saw something sitting against the railing. He walked over and picked it up. It was a standard marine rifle. Sanji turned it over in his hands and examined it. "No, there's something different about this rifle. It's heavier than a normal rifle. The barrel's too wide as well." He mumbled as he stood up and aimed at the wooden floor a few feet away. Sanji squeezed the trigger and fired the weapon. He noticed that it was louder than a normal rifle too. His gaze shifted to the projectile that was now imbedded in the floor. His eyes widened. "That's no bullet" He threw the gun away and pulled the metal cylinder out of the wooden floor. "Dammit, a sharpened dart. This would have pierced right through Luffy's rubber skin." He gripped the dart and turned back towards the Sunny. "I get it. I need to get back and tell the others." Sanji jumped into the air and Sky Walked back to the Sunny.

* * *

Sanji landed on the deck of the Sunny. "Hey Usopp! Brook! You need to take a look at this!" The sniper and the skeleton ran over to where Sanji had landed. As the three converged on the grass, Chopper Franky and Zoro came walking out onto deck. First things first. Sanji wanted to know how Luffy was. They could deal with the dart afterwards. "Chopper?" Sanji asked. "How's he doing?" Zoro and Franky walked down the steps and joined the others on deck. Chopper stood at the top of the steps and sighed.

"He'll be okay." Chopper's answer was met with a sigh of relief. "He has lost a large amount of blood, but he's been through worse. He's already awake asking for food." Zoro laughed.

"So he's fine and we don't need to worry about that anymore." He pointed at Sanji without looking at him. "The captain has requested food. Shouldn't Eye Brows be cooking him something?"

"Shut your mouth mosshead!" Sanji snapped throwing a kick towards Zoro. "At least I have been accomplishing something rather than standing around here like a dumbass!" Everyone turned towards Sanji. Chopper's eyes lit up.

"Wait, do you mean that you found something?" Chopper asked hopefully. Sanji nodded and squeezed the dart in his hand. He felt the dart slice into his thumb.

"Yeah I did. I think I have figured out exactly what happened. But we should probably go get Robin and Nami first. They will want to hear this too." Franky turned and walked towards the kitchen.

"I'll get 'em. But you better not say anything until I get back. I want to know why the hell the deck is broken." Franky said as he walked up the steps. Sanji turned to Usopp and gave him a confused look. Usopp shrugged. He was just as confused as Sanji. Franky poked his head into the kitchen. "Hey Nami, Robin, we think we figured out what happened, we need you guys-" Franky stopped talking when he saw the two women walking towards the door. Nami's hair was covering her eyes but Robin had a look of worry on her face. She spoke up first.

"Okay we are coming." Robin said as the two approached the door. The trio walked out onto deck and down the stairs to listen to what Sanji had to say. Nami stood near the place where she had found Luffy earlier. Most of the blood had been cleaned up but there was still a distinct red mark. Nami blamed herself for every drop of blood Luffy had lost last night.

'If only I had stayed out here with him...' Nami was spaced out and tuned everyone out as they spoke to each other. After a few minutes of talking Sanji spoke directly to Nami.

"Hey Nami-swan. Are you ready?" Sanji's voice snapped Nami out of her own thoughts. She realized that everyone was looking at her. She nodded.

"Yes, I'm sorry." She said a bit distantly. "Please tell us what you found." Sanji smiled and continued.

"Anyway, after examining the wreckage it's obvious that at some point last night, our captain-"

'MY captain' Nami thought bitterly without realizing it.

"-saw the marines approaching the ship and intercepted them. During that fight he engaged a group of Marines using these for bullets." Sanji held out his hand and opened his fingers. The dart lay menacingly in his open hand. The razor sharp tip had cut into Sanji's thumb as he was holding it. A little bit of fresh blood was on his hand.

Several gasps escaped from the crew as they looked at the dart. Nami's eyes widened and she squeezed her arm. She could only imagine being shot by one of those. 'Luffy…' After everyone refocused on him, Sanji continued.

"The point is razor sharp and would have pierced right through Luffy's rubber skin." Chopper nodded.

"Yeah, that dart looks about the same size as the wounds on Luffy. He got hit by a lot of them." Nami looked away from the dart and scoffed.

"It doesn't matter. Luffy beat the marines and protected all of us. It's over and done with. We shouldn't be worrying about that." Her words were met with several confused crew members. Nami walked away from the group and looked up at the clouds. She would have to worry about Luffy later.

"We need to leave." She said coldly. No one replied. It was the only obvious course of action. The marines knew where they were. If they stayed, the marines would not doubt regroup and be back again soon. The crew could have handled them but with Luffy down for the count, it was best if they avoided conflicts for the moment. However, there was a problem with Nami's plan and everyone knew it. Franky is the only one who said anything.

"There's only one problem. I won't let the Sunny leave without Luffy's word." Franky said "He is the SUPER captain and he decides when we leave and where we go." Franky looked around. "Can we really just leave without consulting him first?" Nami ignored Franky's words. She failed Luffy once. She wasn't going to sit around and wait for the marines to return to finish him off.

She turned to say something else but her words were lost in a sea of emotion as a familiar voice cut through the air. The voice felt like velvet against Nami's overburdened nerves.

"Nami's right. We need to leave. Prep the sails and get ready to move. We are setting sail!" Luffy was standing at the top of the stairs above the rest of the crew.

The shocked crew stood there staring at Luffy for several seconds before jumping into action. They began preparations to sail. Nami was the only one who remained by the mast. 'How long has he been there?' She thought staring off into the distance. 'I thought he was supposed to be in bed.' She wanted to turn around and look at him. She wanted to jump up the stairs and kiss him, but how could she? How could she face Luffy knowing that her negligence had gotten him hurt? Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by someone standing next to her.

"Heyyyyyy Nami? Are you in there?" Luffy's innocent face was cocked off to the side as he stood staring at her. Seeing his head tilted to the side, Nami couldn't help but giggle. Seeing her smile, Luffy got a big grin across his face. "Ah there you are" He laughed leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

'Oh I'm an idiot.' She thought feeling her face turn red. 'He's doesn't care what happened. We are all okay. I'm okay. That's all he's worried about. He doesn't care how badly he got hurt.' She looked him over. Luffy had bandages all over him and a few of them were turning red. He acted like he didn't notice the blood. But Nami noticed. "What the hell are you doing?!" Nami snapped. Luffy literally jumped back as she yelled at him. "You're supposed to be resting! Get your ass back in there and lay down before I kick your ass myself!" Luffy let out a childish moan.

"But Nammiii, that's boring. I don't want to lie in bed all day." Nami stepped towards him and brought her fist down on the top of his head with a smile on her face. She was happy to know he was well enough to complain. Still he needed to rest. He had lost way too much blood to be running around like an idiot already.

"No buts. Upstairs. Bed. Now." Nami said emphasizing each word. Luffy groaned again but jumped up to the top of the stairs when Nami pulled her fist back again.

"Ugh fine I'll go." He groaned again and turned to walk back to the infirmary. Nami watched him go. As he opened the door she spoke up.

"Oh Luffy!"

"Yeah?"

"I'll be up in a little while. You better be in bed because you have a lot of explaining to do mister." Luffy giggled at her words.

"Yeah fine." He walked in and closed the door behind him. Nami smiled as she felt a single tear of joy roll down her face.

'That idiot. Thank goodness he's alright.' She turned back to the crew who was just about ready to set sail. With their captain's orders, they were finally allowed to leave. Once the ship got moving and was out on the open water, she would go in to check on Luffy. The Sunny began sailing heading towards their next adventure.

Little did the young navigator know, their battle with the marines was far from over and she was directly in the crosshairs of their next attack.

* * *

Fleet Admiral Akainu had a plan. He had a target. He had a location. No doubt the Straw Hats were already on the move after last night's attack, but his attack ship was hot on their trail. He was only sending one ship, that's all he needed. All they had to do was get the poison into Cat Burglar Nami. Despite Admiral Kizaru's multiple objections, Akainu knew this was the best course of action. He had chosen the best marksman he could find to administer the poison using the same darts that they had used on Straw Hat Luffy. Unfortunately, Akainu had already forgotten the man's name. It didn't matter anyway. As long as he was able to complete his assigned mission, the rest didn't matter. Soon, the marines would catch up to the Straw Hats, and when they did, they would pick them apart, piece by piece.

* * *

**End Chapter 3**


	4. Chapter 4: The Marines Attack

**One Piece: The Agony of Weakness:**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Nami looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day and she couldn't have been in a better mood. She was standing outside of the infirmary door. Luffy was resting and recovering from last night's attack and she could hear him snoring through the door. Knowing he was alright made her feel like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She giggled as Luffy snored again and she walked away from the door. 'I'll bug him later. He needs his rest.' She thought as she headed for the stairs. As she climbed the stairs heading for the upper deck, a gust of wind blew past the Sunny. Nami stopped and watched as her orange colored hair flowed in the wind. After a few seconds she continued her ascent.

Nami walked over to her small tangerine orchard. She ran her hand over one of the orange fruits. These were more than just tangerines; they were a reminder of Nami's home. She smiled as she thought of her home so far away in the East Blue. Nami walked into the orchard.

"I wonder if Luffy would want one of these..." Nami said aloud as she ran her fingers across one of the tangerines. Normally, no one was allowed to touch Nami's precious tangerines. But she would gladly give Luffy a few to make him feel better, only a few though. Just as she was about to pick one off of the tree, a loud crash echoed across the ship. Nami walked over to the stairs to see what was going on. Sanji, Zoro and Franky were standing near the front of the ship. Sanji was stuck in a hole in the deck and Zoro was laughing at him while Franky was shouting at both of them. Nami had no idea what was going on and she really didn't care. She rolled her eyes and walked back to the tangerines. As she approached the trees she heard another crash followed by even more shouting and screaming. It sounded like Franky was about tear someone apart. She ignored the ruckus began humming to herself. Seconds later an even louder crash was heard followed by what sounded like gun fire and screaming. Nami was getting pissed. "Dammit, they are going to wake up Luffy!" She stomped over to the stairs again and looked down at the deck. Franky was rampaging after Zoro and Sanji, firing at them as he ran. Watching the guys running around causing such a racket was pissing her off even more. Finally she snapped.

"YOU MORONS! SHUT UP THE HELL UP!" Nami screamed. Everyone stopped and looked up at Nami. Her face was a fiery red and they all knew they were in trouble. "If you assholes wake up Luffy I will personally come down there and kick all of you into the sea! Got it?!"

"Yes Ma'am" Zoro and Franky said simultaneously. Sanji spun in a circle moving closer to the bottom of the stairs.

"Wow Nami-swan!" Sanji sung with hearts in his eyes. "You're so freaking sexy when you're pissed off!" Nami sighed.

"Yeah yeah just please keep it down." the three agreed and went their separate ways. Nami rubbed her temples. "Ugh. I better go see if they woke him up." As she walked down the stairs towards the infirmary, she had a smile on her face. Secretly, she was happy to have an excuse to go in and see Luffy. As she approached the door, she stopped to listen. She couldn't hear his telltale snoring and that made her nervous. Before going in, she straightened her tank top and shorts. If he was awake, she wanted to look good for him. She opened the door and walked in closing the door behind her. Sunlight flowed into the room from the windows and Nami could see Luffy stretched out on the bed sleeping peacefully. She smiled looking at him. Her smile faded a bit as she looked at the bandages that covered his injuries. She walked over to the bed and sat in the chair next to it. Nami thought about how scared she had been this morning when she found him in a puddle of his own blood. "Damn fool. Don't make me worry like that again." Nami said quietly as she stroked his jet black hair. She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. She sat in the infirmary for a long time just wanting to be near him. Eventually she dozed off.

* * *

Nami awoke sometime later and sat up. She looked at the window. It was sometime in the early afternoon. She realized that she was in the infirmary bed. She glanced to the chair where she had been sitting before and saw Luffy sitting in the chair sleeping. Nami smiled and her heart melted. 'He's so damn sweet.' She thought as she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. She stood up and stretched. She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep but the others had to be getting suspicious by now. The two had been in this room alone for at least a few hours. She gently eased Luffy back into the bed and walked out of the infirmary.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set. Nami decided to make a head count of the crew. She could see Usopp, Chopper and Brook over with Franky talking about something. She could smell something cooking and knew Sanji was in the kitchen cooking dinner. She had taken Luffy food for lunch earlier but he had been asleep so she didn't stick around. As she looked around she realized that Zoro and Robin were missing. She glanced up at the Crow's Nest and saw the hatch was open. As she watched, a thin arm popped out of the metal and closed the hatch. A mischievous little grin crawled across her face. "And I wonder what those two are doing." Nami giggled as she walked down the steps towards the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen and found Sanji busy doing something cooking wise by the oven. She was going to have him cook something up for her to take up to Luffy but then decided against it. She left the kitchen and looked back at the sky. The ship was as lively as ever, but there was something missing.

Nami yawned. Despite her little nap earlier, she was pretty tired. 'I think I'll head back up to the infirmary. I can snooze in the chair some more.' She thought as she walked back up the stairs. She opened the door quietly and saw Luffy sitting on the bed rubbing his shoulder. He had removed almost all of his bandages. A smile crawled across her face as she walked in and closed the door to announce her presence. Luffy looked up and smiled.

"Hey Nami. Did you like your nap?" He asked with a big grin.

"Yeah I did. You idiot and you're supposed to be in bed still." Nami said gently. Luffy shrugged and stretched his arm to grab his vest off the table across the room. He quickly put it on as if embarrassed to be shirtless around Nami. 'I have seen him shirtless hundreds of times. It doesn't bother me. ' She thought.

"Yeah, but that's boring. I want to go outside. I'm sick of being stuck in this room alone." Luffy said pouting. Nami smiled and walked over to the chair next to the bed.

"Okay, so how about I stay in here with you? Would that make you feel better about being stuck in here?" She knew the answer to that question as a larger grin appeared on Luffy's face. Nami smiled back. "Okay, I'll stay. BUT you have to be in bed lying down." Luffy sighed and crossed his arms.

"Fine. But I want something too." He said suspiciously. As Nami was about to ask what he wanted, he leaned over and kissed her. As their lips touched, Nami's world melted away. There was nothing else in the world but the two of them. She felt his hand come up to her face and he laid his hand gently on her cheek. After a few seconds, Luffy broke off the kiss and laid back down on the bed. "Okay, I'm happy now." He said with a smile. Nami could feel her face burning a little bit. She smiled kicking her feet up onto the bed to relax.

"Now Luffy, what have I told you about stealing kisses?" She asked teasingly. "You can't go around stealing kisses whenever you want. It's rude." Luffy laughed.

"Yeah right. You love it." He said confidently. His confidence aroused her curiosity.

"Oh? And how do you know that?" Nami asked.

"Cause you never stop me." Luffy said bluntly. This made Nami laugh. Once her laughter faded, she decided to ask Luffy about last night.

"Luffy," Nami said quietly. Luffy looked at her with his innocent black eyes. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe that he viciously destroyed three marine battleships. It was easy to forget how strong he really was. "What happened last night?" Luffy cocked his head off to one side. He looked confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked as if he was confused. Nami grew annoyed.

"Don't 'What do you mean' me mister. The marines from last night. Sanji found the debris." Nami said. She knew what had happened, but she just wanted to hear it from Luffy. Luffy shook his head and shrugged.

"No idea what you're talking about." He lied. He was going to pretend that it didn't happen. He was still protecting them from the marines. Nami's annoyance grew into anger. She stood up ready to yell at him. She didn't need him to protect her from something that had already happened. That explained why he was so careful to not let Nami see him shirtless. He was trying to hide his wounds. Just as she was about to speak Luffy stood up and put his hand over her mouth. "Please don't yell at me. I just wanted to protect everyone. I wanted to protect you. That's all you need to know. Everything else doesn't matter. " He moved his hand away from her mouth and put his hands on her arms. Nami didn't know what to say next. She just stood there in silence.

"Luffy..." Was all that she could manage. Luffy smiled and sat back down on the bed letting go of her arms. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, Nami sighed. "Alright fine. I can live with that." She said as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Luffy smiled.

"Good." He said triumphantly. He lifted his hand and placed it on Nami's back. He spoke up suddenly breaking the silence. "Hey I got a great idea." Nami looked over her shoulder at him.

"Wha-" Her question was interrupted by Luffy grabbing her shoulders and pulling her further onto the bed with him. He pulled her up so that she was lying face to face with him. He laid his arm under Nami's shoulder and smiled at her. Nami felt her face burning again as she laid so close to Luffy. She ignored it and snuggled up against Luffy letting him wrap his arms around her. He held her close agaisnt his body. He giggled.

"How's this? Comfy?" He asked happily. Nami looked into Luffy's eyes. It was official: this was the best thing that could have happened today. She lifted her head and kissed him locking their lips together in a short kiss.

"Yeah." Nami said as she snuggled against Luffy again. She slipped her arms around him hugged him. "This is just perfect." She laid there feeling the heat from his body against her. She felt so happy here next to him. She didn't care what else happened today. Nothing could ruin this.

The pair lay together on the bed until Sanji called everyone for dinner. Nami lifted her head and looked at Luffy again.

"Did you want to go get something to eat?" She asked him. He thought for a moment. She knew he had to be hungry. Nami sighed unhappily and let go of Luffy trying to stand back up. As she tried, she realized that Luffy wasn't letting go. He shook his head.

"Nah. Not right now." He said. "I just want to lay here with you." Nami's heart melted again. His answer surprised her. She laid back down wrapping her arms around him again.

'He passed up dinner for me?' She thought as she snuggled back up against Luffy. She smiled. 'He's so damn cute.' Her thoughts were broken by him talking again.

"Besides, if I tried to leave you would probably yell at me again." Luffy snickered. Nami jabbed him in the ribs with her finger.

"Shush you. No one asked you." Nami said with just a little bit of attitude. She closed her eyes again feeling the familiar heat from his body. They laid in silence just enjoying being together. It wasn't long before they both fell asleep. This time they stayed there. The pair stayed sleeping together until early the next morning.

* * *

The next morning Nami and Luffy were awoken by the sound of the door shutting. They both looked towards the door and saw Chopper standing in the middle of the room. He had an innocent little smile on his face.

"Good morning Luffy. Good morning Nami." Chopper said happily as he walked towards his desk. "I didn't wake you did I?" Nami quickly let go of Luffy and jumped out of the bed to prevent Chopper from getting the wrong idea about what they were doing. Luffy looked at her with a hurt look on his face. She quickly put her finger to her lips telling Luffy to be quiet. Chopper grabbed few things off of his desk and turned around. "Well Luffy, it looks like you're doing better. You slept most of yesterday so you should be okay to leave the infirmary today." Luffy got a big smile on his face as he jumped out of the bed. Chopper reacted quickly. "But you still have to take it easy. Putting too much stress on your body could reopen your wounds. And then you are going to be stuck in here again." Choppers calm demeanor made Nami nervous. He didn't seem too worried about Luffy's injuries. Maybe they weren't as severe as Nami thought.

"Great! I'm starving!" Luffy said as he ran towards the door. He was out the door and gone within seconds. Nami knew exactly where he was going. "SANJI! SANJI, SANJI, SANJI, SANJI! IM HUNGRY! MAKE ME FOOD!" Nami and Chopper chuckled hearing his voice echoing across the ship. Chopper walked over to the bed and began fixing it.

"Hey Nami? Could you do me a favor?" Chopper asked without turning to look at her.

"Yeah?" She answered.

"Could you go and keep an eye on him? If he eats too much he will get fat. If he gets fat his rubber body will stretch and reopen his wounds." Chopper finished making the bed and turned around. "So could you make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid?" Nami threw a half assed salute and walked towards the door.

"Aye aye doctor sir!" Nami said laughing. "But you do know that impossible right?" Chopper nodded.

"Yeah, but I know you will do your best." Choppers confidence in her abilities to keep Luffy from being Luffy made Nami's smile grow wider. She walked out onto the deck and took in a deep breath of the crisp morning air. It only took her a few seconds to realize that something was wrong. She couldn't hear Luffy anymore. She walked towards the kitchen and found everyone except her and Chopper eating breakfast. Luffy was sitting in his usual seat at the end of the table shoving food into the bottomless pit he called a mouth. There was no room to sit down by him so she took a seat by Robin who had been waving her over. She sat down and Robin passed her a plate of food. The older woman stared intently at Nami until she finally became uncomfortable. After a few moments of awkward silence Robin finally spoke.

"Well?" Robin asked impatiently.

"Well what?" Nami asked completely confused.

"How was it?" Robin replied. Nami was even more confused.

"How was what?" Nami asked. Immediately after she said it she knew the answer to her own question. 'She's asking about my night with Luffy. She wants to know if we-' Nami face turned bright red and she shook her head violently. "No no no no no no. Nothing happened I swear! We didn't do anything!" Robin smiled clearly unconvinced.

"Really? The two of you spent half of the day closed up in a room together and nothing happened?" Robin asked accusingly. Nami nodded trying to force the red from her face.

"Yes really. We just talked and slept." Robin raised her eyebrow. "We slept in the same bed fully clothed." Nami added with emphasis on the last two words. Robin giggled.

"Alright. Whatever you say Miss Navigator." Robin was like a big sister to Nami and like all big sisters, she couldn't keep her nose out of Nami's business when it came to her boyfriend. Nami was mostly okay with that. Especially since she had dirt on Robin and Zoro. She was just about to bring up them being in the Crow's Nest together when everyone heard Chopper shouting from deck.

"HEY EVERYONE! THERE'S AN ISLAND UP AHEAD." They were about to arrive at a new island. This meant everyone had to get onto deck quickly. They were all getting out of their seats when a pair of hands shot across the room and grabbed the door.

"ISLAND!" Luffy shouted as he flew across the room knocking everyone onto the floor. He was followed by several curses and angry shouts. Before anyone was able to get up, he was outside and on the Lion figurehead looking straight ahead. Nami walked out of the kitchen and everyone else walked out behind her. She looked straight ahead and, just as Chopper said, there was an island. The island wasn't very large but it looked like it had a small city on its shore.

'Perfect.' Nami thought as everyone spoke around her. 'We were just starting to run low on a few things too.' She turned and headed towards the woman's dorm. 'Well, I better get everyone their list of stuff to get. Hopefully we can restock quickly and-' Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud shout from across deck.

"EVERYONE LOOK OUT!" Luffy screamed as he jumped from the Lion's head. Sanji leapt at Nami and tackled her to the ground as the cannon balls slammed into the side of the ship. The entire crew was thrown to the ground as the ship heaved. Nami smacked her head off the stairs and was thrown into a confused daze. She wasn't sure what was going on. As she stood up she could hear the sound of cannon fire. It only took her a few seconds to realize what was going on. The marines had caught up with them.

Nami struggled to get up as Zoro and Sanji jumped into the air attacking cannonballs before they could hit the ship. Frank was running to the helm, Chopper and Brook were panicking and Usopp and Robin were staying back towards the middle of the ship. Nami could hear Luffy shouting at the marines but she couldn't make out what he was saying. As her head cleared she was able to make an assessment of the situation. The Marine ship was close to them. It was right up alongside of them now. She had no idea how they had gotten so close without them noticing. She saw marines jumping off of the ship and landing on the Sunny.

It only took a few seconds before the marines were infesting the ship. Dozens of marines engaged the Straw Hats. The entire ship had become a battlefield. Nami looked around and saw everyone fighting. She stood up and pulled out her Sorcery Clima-Tact. This was no time to be weak. Her crewmates needed her.

* * *

"**SECOND GEAR**!" Luffy shouted as he activated one of his favorite techniques. As soon as he increased his blood flow, Luffy felt is body straining and his wounds throbbing. 'Dammit,' Luffy thought as he gritted his teeth. 'There's no way I can keep this up for very long.' He looked around and took a quick headcount of his crew. If he knew where everyone was, he could help them if they got in trouble. His eyes darted across the ship and he made a mental note of everyone's location. The last person he found was Nami, who was fighting off several marines by the main mast. He knew that everyone was able to fend for themselves but he was still worried about Nami.

While looking at Nami, Luffy noticed a couple marines were sneaking up behind her. He quickly looked to see who was closest to help her if they grabbed her. Sanji was a pretty close so she should be okay. 'But why would they sneak up on her? ' Luffy thought. Luffy often fought on pure instinct and right now his instincts were telling him something was wrong. He looked at the marine ship and saw someone else watching Nami. It only took a few seconds for Luffy to realize what was happening.

"No… NAMI HOLD ON!" His head snapped to Sanji. "Sanji! We need to help Nami right now!" Sanji nodded and leapt towards Nami. If Luffy was worried about something, he wasn't going to waste time asking questions. They only had a few seconds. They had to move quickly.

* * *

"**GUST SWORD****!**" Nami shouted as she sent a dozen marines flying off of the ship and into the water. It didn't make much of a difference. Everyone was isolated and the marines just kept coming. She could hear Luffy shouting attacks somewhere towards the other end of the Sunny. 'Luffy shouldn't be fighting like this...' Nami thought bleakly as she brought a bolt of lightning down on another group of marines. 'Even if these guys are weak he shouldn't be exerting himself like this.' She was so concerned with Luffy that she didn't see the two marines sneaking up behind her.

"Grab her NOW!" One of the marines shouted as they pounced on Nami. She screamed as the two men grabbed her and restrained her. One wrestled her Sorcery Clima-Tact away from her and threw it out of her reach. Nami fought back as hard as she could but they were physically more powerful than her. They restrained her and held her hands behind her back. "SNIPER, FIRE!" One of the marines shouted.

'What? Aren't they already firing?' Nami thought as she struggled against her captors. She looked up and saw a marine with a strangely long rifle aiming at her from the Marine ship. The barrel was at least half again as long as a normal rifle. 'They are going to execute me!' She realized in horror. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. She watched in horror as the man carefully aimed his rifle at her. He was just about to fire when Nami heard a familiar voice.

"Get your filthy hands off of my Nami-swan you pigs!" Sanji launched kicks into both marines who were holding Nami in place. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere to save her. She was about to thank him when she heard it. Someone else was screaming at her.

"NAMI!" Luffy screamed as he appeared in front of her facing towards her. He was still in Second Gear. Just as he appeared, a loud bang resounded across the sea. It sounded like a rifle but it was so much deeper. Instantly she remembered the man with the long rifle. Luffy eyes suddenly widened and his skin turned back to its normal color as he fell out of Second Gear. Nami looked into his eyes. They were unfocused and quivering. Luffy's body began shivering. One of the marines that had attacked her began shouting.

"SON OF A BITCH! The damned Sniper hit the captain instead! Abort mission everyone fall back! " As if on cue, all of the marines turned and ran back to their ship. Nami was confused but she had to make sure Luffy was okay first. She looked up at him still standing over her.

"Luffy?! are you okay, what happened?" Nami asked still sitting on the ground. She looked around and saw all of the marines retreating back to their ship. The marines scurried back up to their ship and tried to pull away. Zoro and Sanji took off and jumped onto their ship after them. Nami knew they could handle it and returned her attention to Luffy. She looked at him again and gasped in shock. His pupils were gone. His eyes had turned a milky white. "LUFFY!" Nami screamed as Robin and Usopp ran over. Usopp shouted for Chopper as Robin looked at Luffy. Robin gasped.

"Wait! Isn't that one of the darts the marines used on him the other night?" Sure enough, there sticking out of Luffy's back, was a long thin dart. As she looked at it, Nami realized that it was different from the first ones. It was longer and it was a deep purple color.

Everything became eerily silent for a few seconds. Then Luffy fell backwards and slammed into the deck.

"LUFFY!" Nami shouted again. Her shout was drowned out as Luffy began to scream.

It wasn't a normal scream of pain. It was a truly blood curdling scream that sounded like Luffy was in pure agony. Nami watched helplessly as Luffy suffered right in front of her. She tried calling to him but it did nothing. Chopper ran over and tried to help him but as soon as Chopper touched him, Luffy got worse. His whole body began convulsing violently as if he was having a terrible seizure. Chopper fell back shocked and Nami broke down into tears as she watched Luffy convulse on the ground. She looked at Copper.

"CHOPPER PLEASE! "Nami screamed, tears rolling down her face. "Do something. ANYTHING! " Chopper shook his head as tears rolled down his face as well.

"I… I can't!" Chopper shouted over Luffy's screams. "His symptoms are escalating too rapidly, I can't stop this!" Nami looked back to her fallen captain.

"Luffy?..." Nami said her voice quivering as she watched the horrifying scene in front of her. If Chopper couldn't help him, then who could? She reached out to him but just as she was about to touch him Robin grabbed her hand. As she opened her mouth to object, Luffy's scream got even louder and blood began running out of his eyes and mouth. Nami's eyes widened in terror and she fell back tears streaming down her face. 'WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENEING?!' She watched in horror and she realized no one could help him now.

* * *

**End Chapter 4**


	5. Chapter 5: The Tragic Aftermath

**One Piece: Agony of Weakness:**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Usopp kicked in the door to the infirmary making sure that Chopper and Franky had a clear path into the room. Chopper ran into the room and was quickly followed by Franky who was carrying the unconscious Luffy. Luffy's convulsions had stopped but he unresponsive and he was still bleeding. His convulsions had reopened most of his wounds from the previous marine attack.

Chopper ran over to his desk. His mind was racing. He had no idea what was happening to Luffy and that scared him. His symptoms were similar to a few diseases he could name off the top of his head but Luffy's symptoms were escalating too quickly to be anything natural. Chopper stopped and took a deep breath trying to calm his mind. 'So it isn't anything natural. Then it has to be some kind of poison!' He thought keeping his panicky nature in check. That was very bad. If it WAS poison Chopper had no way to counter it without a sample of unused toxin. And he was pretty sure the marines weren't sharing. Franky set Luffy down on the bed and turned to look at Chopper. Chopper had to make some quick decisions right now. He didn't know how long Luffy had.

"Listen!" Chopper said with as much authority as he could muster. "I need both of you out of here right now." Usopp and Franky hesitated.

"But Chopper," Usopp pleaded. "Couldn't you use our help? I mean we don't know as much as you but we could still help you know?" Chopper sighed and put his hooves on the desk.

"No." Chopper said forcefully. "Everything I'm observing points to some kind of poison and unless you have a vial of the original poison then there's nothing you can do to help me." Franky gasped and jumped forward his eyes beginning to water.

"Poison?! Are you freaking serious?!" He looked at Luffy. "I know he's super tough but even Luffy can die from poison right?" Chopper shook his head as he put a cold wet towel on Luffy's head and began wiping away the blood on his face.

"Maybe. I don't know. Luffy told me that after we got separated, he went to Impel Down and fought Magellan, a man who had the power of a venom Devil Fruit. After being exposed to a large amount of the poison, Luffy received some strange treatment that may have increased his natural resistance to poison. He said that he was brought back from the brink of death." Chopper shuddered. "I...If that's true, then Luffy would be nearly resistant to even the most lethal poison. Meaning this could be anything. Anything from a minor poison to a fatal toxin. Judging from the excessive bleeding, I'd hypothesize that this was meant to be a fatal attack." Franky nodded wiping his eyes.

"You mean an assassination attempt?" Franky asked. Usopp squealed and fell to the floor dramatically. Chopper nodded as he walked over to his bookcase.

"Right. I'm guessing the only reason he is not dead is due to his increased natural resistance." Chopper explained as he grabbed a few bottles of different colored liquids off of a shelf and ran back over to his desk. "Long story short: I have no idea how cure Luffy... yet. The best thing I can do is support his own immune system and try to find something that can counter whatever is flowing through him." Franky nodded.

"I get it. So what your saying is we are only going to be in your way." He asked already knowing the answer to his own question. He scooped up Usopp and walked towards the door. "That's fair. But I doubt that that will be enough for Nami. I'll try to keep her away from here if she becomes a problem." Chopper nodded and without another word shooed them out of his office. Once the door was closed he sighed and began talking to himself.

"Luffy, I'm so sorry that I couldn't do anything to help you before. I...I froze up." A tear rolled down Choppers face as he spoke to no one. "I...I'm so sorry. I swear...I swear that I will find a way to help you now. You are always there to help us if we are in trouble. Now let me help you!" Chopper mumbled. He swore to himself and to Luffy that he wouldn't let his Captain die from whatever this was.

* * *

Nami was a complete wreck. She had passed out from the shock of seeing what had happened to Luffy. Robin and Brook had taken her to the women's dorm and had placed her in her bed to rest. She was now awake and just lying there in the darkness of her room, a river of tears flowing down her face.

"Luffy..." She mumbled for the tenth time since she had woken up. She had struggled to stand a few times, but her body wasn't cooperating. Her arms and legs felt like the bones had been ripped right out of her skin. Neither one could support her. After several failed attempts to stand she gave up. She laid there, the painful memory of her boyfriend convulsing in pain in front of her fresh in her mind. She couldn't focus on anything except Luffy's face as blood flowed from his eyes and mouth.

She shuddered in her bed. Time passed but she didn't bother keeping track of it. She could feel the puddle of tears forming around her head. She didn't care. As she laid there lost in her own mind, she became aware that her throat was sore. She realized that she had been screaming. Her mouth was dry she could feel pain crawling down her throat. Nami made a conscious effort to stop and try to calm down.

That idea didn't last long as Luffy's pained expression slipped back into her mind. Within seconds, she was thrashing at her bed screaming his name again. She clawed and tore at her blanket as she forced her body to obey her. She was going to stand and she was going to him. After a few minutes of struggling, she found herself standing next to her bed. She shook her head trying to stop the tears from flowing down her face.

'I...I need to be strong. I need...to...I need to see him.' Her thoughts were slow and foggy but she was a determined woman. She readied herself and took the first step towards the closed door. Suddenly the door burst open and Robin was standing there with Zoro and Sanji flanking her on both sides. Robin stepped forward and looked at Nami. A worried expression crawled across the older woman's face. Sanji looked down and Zoro closed his eyes. Nami looked into Robin's eyes. "Please..." She pleaded. "Let me see him." Robin shook her head.

"You know I can't. Chopper is-" Robin was cut off by Sanji who stepped in front of her. He took his cigarette out of his mouth and held it in his hand.

"Nami, I'm sorry. But you're not going anywhere." Sanji said calmly. "You are way too emotionally drained right now. You need to stay in bed. Frankly, I'm surprised you are able to stand at all." Nami realized that her breathing was labored as she stood in the middle of the room. She glared at Sanji.

"NO!" She snapped. Saying that one word with that much force made her dizzy. They were right; she wasn't going to be able to make it out of her room let alone across the ship. He body was exhausted, mentally and emotionally. However, at this moment she didn't give a fuck and they were going to get out of her way. "You...can't... I.I need to see...see if he's okay... please..." Sanji bit his lower lip. He looked like he was about to give in to her request. He looked away from Nami's weakened form and his gaze fell to the floor. He was about to speak when Zoro cleared his throat. The sudden sound from the swordsman was enough to bring Sanji back to his senses. This was for her own good. He took a deep breath and looked at Nami again.

"Nami dearest, you can barely stand. If you tried to leave now you would only end up hurting yourself." Sanji said gently as he took a step towards her. Robin stepped to the opposite side of Nami. Nami stood there looking back and forth at both of them. Robin spook up.

"And if that happened, what would that do to Luffy?" Nami eyes widened and she gasped. "If he found out that you hurt yourself trying to make sure he was okay-" Robin stopped speaking and Sanji continued for her.

"It would hurt him more than whatever is happening to him right now. You know him better than anyone else on this crew. He…he loves you. Seeing you hurt would damage his heart, not just his body. You know how strong his body...is..." Sanji stopped speaking. His arms went limp and his head drooped down. He stared straight at the floor as if his heart had been broken. He began mumbling to himself. "She probably does know how strong that bastard's body is." He mumbled, his perverted mind wandering to places that were entirely inappropriate for this situation. Robin looked over at him and shook her head.

"The point is," She said ignoring the suddenly depressed cook. "You aren't going anywhere. You need to stay in bed." Nami was just about to say something else when a black sheath came from behind Robin and Sanji and struck Nami right in the middle of her head. The blow was strong enough to knock Nami back on to her bed and immediately lose consciousness. Robin gasped and spun around quickly. Zoro stood there behind them with one of his sheathed swords pointing straight forward. Robin was stunned. She never believed that Zoro would hit Nami, but she couldn't argue that his action had been effective. She was just about to object to his action when Sanji spun around and launched a strong kick into Zoro's stomach. Zoro coughed as he was sent flying across the room and out the door. He only stopped when he slammed into one of the masts. Sanji flew out the door after him and brought his foot down on the swordsman's neck, sending him plummeting down onto the deck. Before Zoro could react, the cook then jumped off of the air and slammed his foot into Zoro's stomach again, causing him to cough up a bit of blood. Sanji was furious.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Sanji screamed at the top of his lungs. "HOW DARE YOU HIT NAMI LIKE THAT?! YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO HURT HER LIKE THAT! I AM GOING TO KILL YO-" Just as he was about to bring his foot down on Zoro again, hands appeared from his body and stopped him. He looked over to the door they had just come out of and saw Robin standing there, her arms crossing her chest in her signature pose. She was angrier than Sanji was.

"That's enough both of you!" She said, her voice filled with authority. Under that authoritive tone was the slightest hint of worry. "Enough has happened already. We don't need you two trying to rip each other's throats out!" Sanji immediately complied and stepped away from Zoro. He put his cigarette back into his mouth and lit it. He took a long drag from it as he watched Robin walk down from the closed door and over to them.

"Robin dear, please tell me that you agree with me. This insensitive moss head just blatantly hit her. He was completely out of line!" Robin sighed and folded her arms.

"True, his methods were barbaric, but you have to admit, she IS resting now. I don't like it, but I think Zoro was right." Sanji cried out and looked away as if his heart had been broken...again. Robin looked down at Zoro and winked at him before helping him up. She smiled at him. "You know, I didn't expect you to let him attack you like that. I figured you would have fought back." Zoro shrugged.

"Yeah, but if I had done that, it would have been harder to get him out of the room." Robin was shocked by his cleverly simple plan. "This way, he already outside, she's sleeping and now all we have to do is wait for news about Luffy." Robin nodded, stepped forward and kissed Zoro. The kiss was rewarded with a suddenly red swordsman and a loud cry from a distressed cook who was now rolling across the deck. Robin smiled and turned around to see Franky walking down from the helm. "He laughed at Sanji rolling around on the floor crying and walked over to Robin and Zoro.

"Hope you guys don't mind, but I figured it would be best if we didn't stay out in open waters." Franky motioned to the front of the ship. Robin looked over and saw that the Sunny was approaching the island they had spotted before. "Brook and Usopp took the Mini Merry over to that island a while ago. There's a cove on the other side of the island. It's deep enough for the Sunny to anchor so I figured it would be a super place to lie low for a while." Zoro regained his composure and walked up the stairs to the helm.

"Good call. We can relax there and make a few runs into town. If Luffy is as bad as you said, then Chopper might need some more doctor stuff from the town." Everyone agreed ignoring Zoro and his foolish choice words. Hopefully, they could keep a low profile until Luffy was back on his feet. With their captain down for the count and their navigator a basket case, the Straw Hat pirates weren't going anywhere for the time being.

* * *

It was well into the afternoon when Robin and Zoro returned to the cove. The pair had decided to walk into the town that the crew had seen earlier. Robin took a moment to examine their temporary home. The cove was the perfect place to hide. The cove was a large lake set inside the island about half a mile away the sea. It connected to the sea by a river that flowed into the lake from one opening and then flowed back out into the sea from another opening further down the coast. The whole cove was blocked by a thick wall of lush green trees. From where the crew had anchored, it was impossible to see the sea through the trees. The only gaps in the trees were the mouths that the water came in. The shore was covered in extremely soft sand that ran the length of the entire cove. The tree line towards the center of the island was also thick with shrubs and trees, so they were protected on all sides.

The crew had had an extremely rough morning and Robin thought it would be a good idea for everyone to relax. She, with a little help from Franky, had handed out jobs for everyone to accomplish before sunset. She figured that the best thing for the crew to do at this point would be to keep their minds occupied. There had been no word on Luffy's condition yet and everyone was on edge. Chopper had emerged from the infirmary only once after they had dropped anchor. He demanded that no one was to enter the infirmary no matter what they heard from within. He then left and came back a half an hour later or so with a few bags of supplies he had bought in town. He spoke to no one when he dashed back into the infirmary and closed the door. Everyone was worried but luckily Nami was still unconscious. Zoro may have been a bit too rough with her but Robin couldn't deny that his method produced outstanding results.

As she approached the ship, Robin could see the crew busy with the tasks that she had assigned. The first thing the crew noticed about the island was that it was cold. It wasn't a winter island but the temperature was considerably lower than their rocky paradise a few days ago. It was Brook and Franky's job to deal with that. The pair was busy preparing a large bon fire for that evening. The bon fire had been Sanji's idea. He knew that Luffy and Nami loved them. The two of them could lose themselves for hours just sitting next to the fire in each other's arms. He figured that, if Luffy was able and if Chopper allowed it, they could bring him out for a few hours that night. Everyone loved the idea.

Sanji was alone on the deck of the ship. His assigned duty had two parts. Firstly, if the need occurred, he had to keep Nami under control. Once she woke up, Robin figured that she would try to storm the infirmary. She also figured that Sanji would the best choice to guard her. He could keep her back long enough for back up to get there and help him. Secondly, he offered to clean up the ship. The battle earlier that day had left the Sunny a mess. The deck was a mangled mess of discarded weapons and blood so someone had to clean it up. Sanji volunteered for that task.

Usopp was doing his own thing by the entrance to the cove. Robin wasn't entirely sure what he was doing but he had said that it had something to do with keeping the Sunny hidden from the Navy. Usopp was a smart guy. If he thought it would help keep them safe, Robin wasn't going to argue.

Robin had selected Zoro and herself to go into town. This was one of the most vital tasks the crew was faced with at the moment. They had to figure out what island this was and if the people were hostile towards pirates. As it turned out, the island they had landed on was called Cardioa. Cardioa had a bustling little town that shared the name of the island. The small city was the only inhabited part of the island. Robin had learned from the locals that no one ventured to the uninhabited parts of the island. Apparently the forest was sacred to the people's culture and no one was allowed to enter. This fact made the island seem like an even better place to hide for a few days. However there was a small problem. Cardioa was the home of a decently sized Navy base. The people were all fiercely loyal to the marines and their cause. Robin had learned that Cardio was the hometown of one of the marines Vice Admirals. Robin and Zoro agreed that it was in everyone's best interest to not cause a ruckus while they were there.

As the pair walked into the area that had been cleared for the bon fire, Robin began to have second thoughts about the fire. Franky and Brook waved at them as they came closer.

"Hey Robin! Zoro!" The skeleton called. "How'd your venture into the city go? Did you learn anything important?" The skeleton focused his gaze on Robin. "More importantly Robin, would you perhaps show me your panti-" Brook was cut off by Franky putting a hand in front of his face.

"Hey there brother, chill." Franky said laughing. "Let's hear what they found out about the island before you get your head caved in by Zoro." Robin laughed and explained everything that she had learned about the island and the Navy base. During the conversation, Usopp returned from whatever he was doing and sat to listen. Even Sanji had come to the railing to listen to what Robin had to say. After she finished explaining their situation, everyone was concerned. Franky was the first to speak.

"Well that's not super." The cyborg said. "If this island is home to a Navy base," Franky paused to turn and look at the bon fire. He pointed at the pile of wood he and Brook had collected. "THIS is probably a really bad idea. A fire of that size will attract a lot of attention." Brook slumped down to the ground.

"Aww. Does that mean we have to take it down? We worked really hard on this and I was really looking forward to preforming for everyone during the fire." The musician sounded like he was on the verge of tears. Robin thought about it for a moment and then nodded her head.

"It's probably for the best. We can't risk something like this so close to a Navy base. At least not until Luffy is back on his feet." Sanji leapt over the railing and landed a few feet away from the crew. He had a big smile on his face.

"Well then Robin my sweet, we can still have the bon fire after Luffy and my sweet Nami wake up." He motioned towards the ship. "Weren't we planning on leaving as soon as they were up to it anyway? I don't see why we have to change our plans yet. We just can't do it tonight" Everyone agreed. It was a great idea. A bon fire would be the perfect thing to raise everyone's spirits after their ordeal. Robin smiled and nodded.

"Alright. Then we have a party the night our brave captain and his queen wake up. " She said. Everyone cheered and went back to work. Robin looked up to the deck of the Sunny. She hoped that that would be sooner rather than later.

* * *

Nami was standing on the deck listening to the others talking down on the beach. She had woken up some time ago, but she still had difficulty standing up. Once she was steady on her feet, she tried to leave her room, only to find Sanji on deck standing guard and cleaning. She knew there was no way to sneak past him so she waited. When he jumped off the side of the ship to go and talk to the others, Nami snuck out onto deck to listen to their conversation. She listened intently taking in the full extent of their current situation. It wasn't good and she knew it. But the others seemed to have it under control. She staggered over to the stairs and sat down on the first step. She was still exhausted and her head was killing her. 'Why does my head hurt so badly?' She thought as she rubbed her forehead. 'I can't remember. I remember Sanji and Robin trying to stop me from leaving my room and then nothing.' She turned sideways on the step so she could lean back against the railing. She sat there for a while just listening to the gentle sounds of the forest and ruckus the crew made while they were working. Nami was still worried about Luffy but she noticed that Chopper wasn't with the crew. That meant he was still in the infirmary with Luffy. If she tried to go see him now, Chopper would probably throw her off the ship so she decided it was best to leave her captain in the hands of the greatest doctor alive. She laid her head against the cool wood and closed her eyes. "Dammit Luffy. I told you not to scare me like this again. You're such an inconsiderate ass sometimes." She mumbled with a smile. Her thoughts drifted back to their day on the rocks a few days ago. It felt like it had been so long ago but Nami could still feel Luffy's arms around her. A single tear rolled down her face and she wished he would come running out onto deck to hold her again. Her thoughts were finally interrupted by a voice.

"Nami-swan? What are you doing?" Nami opened and eye and saw Sanji climbing up onto deck. He was quickly followed by Robin and Zoro. As soon as she saw Zoro her forehead began to ache again but she wasn't sure why. "You are supposed to be resting." Sanji continued gently. Nami closed her eye and scoffed.

"I AM resting." She said with her usual attitude. "I am sick and tired of being cooped up in the room alone. Besides you people can't function without me." She opened her eyes and motioned towards the sky with her hand. "I mean look at this. It's freezing. You dimwits can't even choose a good island to hide at without me." Robin laughed.

"Actually, it was my idea miss Navigator." She said calmly. It wasn't her idea but if that would make Nami relax a bit, then Robin was willing to lie. Nami shrugged.

"Oh. Well that's not so bad." She slowly stood up and walked over to the railing. She looked around the cove. "I mean look at this place. It's a bit cold but it's absolutely gorgeous. And it looks really safe. Only Robin could have picked an island that was this perfect to hide in." Robin walked over and stood next to Nami. Sanji and Zoro came closer to but still kept their distance. Sanji made sure to position himself between Nami and Zoro just in case. Robin laid her hand on Nami's shoulder.

"See? We are fine. Why don't you go back to the room and rest?" Robin asked. Nami shook her head. "Oh?" Robin said as a wicked grin crawled across her face. "Would you go if we brought Luffy in to keep you company for the night?" Her grin grew a bit larger as the younger woman's face turned red. Nami opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Robin. "Yeah yeah I know. Nothing happened." Robin walked towards the stairs to the woman's dorm pulling Nami by her arm. "Just so you know, I still don't believe you. Regardless, you still need to rest." When they reached the bottom of the stairs Robin let go. Nami sighed and looked at Robin.

"Okay. I promise I won't cause any more trouble." Nami walked past Robin and the guys towards the middle of the deck. "But I would rather be out here if that's okay." Nami asked. Robin nodded.

"Fine. You can stay out here with us. BUT you have to change into something warmer." Nami looked down at her clothes. She was still dressed to impress Luffy. "Luffy's not going to see you right now and you are going to catch a cold." Nami was about to protest but chose not to.

"Fine. I'll change." Nami pouted as she walked up the stairs and walked into the woman's dorm. Robin was satisfied. This was probably for the best anyway. If Nami was out here with the others, they all could keep an eye on her.

A few minutes later Nami came out of her dorm wearing warmer clothes and holding a blanket. She wrapped the blanket around herself as she walked down the stairs. She still wasn't quite steady on her feet but she was getting better. As she walked down the stairs, she saw Brook playing a song for the rest of the crew. Sanji smiled as she walked down the stairs.

"Ahhhh Nami-swan, you as beautiful and as perfect as a princess." He moaned as his eyes turned into hearts. Nami smiled and nodded.

"Thanks Sanji. Hey do you think you could make us some dinner? I'm pretty hungry." Sanji took off towards the kitchen yelling something about Nami finally falling in love with him. She shook her head and walked over to listen to Brook playing his violin. As the sweet music wrapped itself around Nami, her thoughts returned to Luffy. She was still worried and she noticed that Chopper STILL wasn't on the deck withe everyone else. She was so worried but she knew there was nothing she could do to help him at this point. She pulled her blanket tighter and she let herself get lost in the sweet sounds of Brook's music.

* * *

Chopper came walking out of the infirmary. The setting sun hid his darkened features from the rest of the crew. He had no idea what to tell them. As he walked over to the railing, his presence was immediately noticed by everyone on deck. Sanji was standing by the bottom of the stairs and he looked up at the reindeer with a smile on his face.

"There's our doctor." He exclaimed as he looked over to Nami who had finally calmed down enough to join everyone else on deck. She was huddled in a blanket to protect her from the cool air of the approaching night. As she looked up at Chopper, some light came back into her eyes. She stood up letting the blanket slide off her shoulders and onto the ground.

"Chopper?" Nami asked in a weak shaky voice. "How... How is he? Can I see him now?" As she spoke, her voice grew a little stronger. Hope had returned to her eyes. Hearing the hope in Nami's voice was too much for Chopper. Tears stung at his eyes as he tried to find words to say to the crew. Chopper held back as much of the tears as he could. After a few moments of silence, Nami grew nervous. "Chopper? What's wrong? How's Luffy? " Her question was met with more silence. Nami began to panic she ran towards the stairs but Sanji grabbed her before she could climb them. "Chopper? Why aren't you talking? " Nami immediately feared the worst . "Chopper…please tell me he's not dead! PLEASE!" Nami shouted. The reindeer shook his head and finally spoke.

"No, he's...he's alive. But..." Chopper's voice trailed off. Nami sighed in relief. Franky spoke up for her.

"But?" Franky asked. Chopper visibly flinched.

"But... Luffy has lived through the poison. He won't die from it but there has been a serious side effect." Chopper couldn't hold back the tears any longer and began crying. "He...He..." Chopper was unable to finish his sentence between his sobs. Nami was now even more concerned than before.

"Chopper! Tell us please!" Nami pleaded as she pushed by Sanji and ran up the stairs. Chopper quickly changed into his Heavy Point and blocked her from entering the room. Finally he screamed his answer at the top of his lungs.

"Luffy, isn't made of rubber anymore! THE POISON KILLED HIS DEVIL FRUIT POWER!"

* * *

**End Chapter 5**


	6. Chapter 6: The Crew's Feelings

**One Piece: Agony of Weakness:**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

The entire crew stood in complete silence. It felt like time had come to a complete stop as the news of their captain sunk in. It was unbelievable, the fun loving powerhouse that always stood as a beacon of hope and defiance had lost his power? The silence that had gripped the crew seemed to last forever. It was as if no one wanted time to continue. All they could do was stand there, staring at Chopper. After what seemed like an eternity, Zoro finally spoke up.

"His Devil Fruit power is dead?" Zoro asked still trying to comprehend his own words. "Chopper is that even possible?" He broke his stunned stance and glanced over to Robin. Robin was standing near the swing under one of the trees. She had her hand over her mouth with a look of pure shock hanging heavily on her face. His gaze slowly drifted back to the doctor, still standing guard prepared to stop Nami if she tried to get into the infirmary. Chopper reverted back to his original form with a sigh, never taking his eyes off Nami.

"I. I honestly don't know. That is the best way I can describe what has happened." The young reindeer said. "His powers, his rubber body, they are just gone. His skin reacts just as normal human skin but he doesn't appear to be in any more pain." Chopper swallowed trying to find more words He was on the verge of a breakdown. "It...It's like he never ate a Devil Fruit. He..." Chopper finally broke down and tears poured from his face. He fell onto the floor crying. Clearly, he wasn't going to be able to give them any more information.

The Sunny was silent save for the sounds of the crying doctor. It was as if the ship itself was shocked into a stunned silence. Sanji closed his eyes and tilted his head towards the floor. He felt his eyes stinging as tears welled up behind his eyelids. This was the first time he had cried for a man since the day he left the Baratie. As a single tear forced its way out of the cook's eye, he came to a horrifying realization. At the same time, Zoro, Franky and Robin came to the same conclusion. They all realized that Nami wasn't making a sound. Sanji knew what was about to happen. He jumped and screamed at the same time. "CHOPPER! GRAB NAMI!" The doctor snapped his eyes open and saw it out of the corner of his eye; Nami had stood up and was staring at the door. A split second later, she dashed for the door. Chopper wasn't fast enough to stop her. Nami grabbed the handle of the door and threw it open, leaping inside the door before it was even fully open. Chopper gasped.

'No! She can't disturb him! I don't know what will happen if he wakes up right now!' Chopper thought in a panic. The space between the door and the bed where Luffy was laying was only a few feet. They had less than a second to stop Nami. Sanji was already past him and was inside of the room. In one fluid movement, and without making a sound, he threw his arm around Nami's stomach and threw his other hand across her mouth and leapt back towards the door. Zoro was ready and closed the door as soon as the pair was out of the room. Franky quickly stepped up next to Zoro and blocked the door from Nami's view.

Sanji landed about half way across the Sunny and let go of Nami. As she fell away from his grip Sanji saw the tears in the air between them. He wasn't sure if they were his, or hers. It didn't matter. Nami fell backwards and as she slammed into the deck only one word escaped her lips. She screamed it so loud that the birds around the cove scattered into the darkness of night.

* * *

No one on the Sunny slept that night, except for Luffy and possibly Nami, who was lying silently on the grassy deck. The entire crew was just standing around the deck thinking in complete silence. Everyone was by themselves, trying to stay away from everyone else.

Zoro, Luffy's first mate, stood by the figurehead, Luffy's favorite seat. He stared into the night sky thinking about every person Luffy had ever saved. Without his powers, So many people would be dead or worse. No one on this crew would be alive right now. Each and every one of them had been saved by Luffy in some way. He was a hero to all of them. Zoro had been with him the longest, so he knew that Luffy only relied on two things to protect people. He never relied on weapons or brains. Luffy relied on his heart and his Devil Fruit powers. That was what made Luffy strong. That is why Luffy was never scared. No matter what they faced, no matter who they fought, everyone knew they could count on Luffy to see them through. His Devil Fruit was his strength. His strength was their strength. Without his Devil Fruit, what would become of the Straw Hat Pirates? What would become of Luffy personally? The thought crossed Zoro's mind only for an instant, but it made his stomach turn. His body cramped and his mind went blank.

'Would Luffy try to kill himself? Would he turn himself into the Navy to end his own life?' Zoro growled and violently shook his head. 'NO! Luffy would never do that. With or without his powers, Luffy is too strong to ever consider that!' Zoro was ashamed of himself for even allowing the thought to cross his mind. As he cursed himself, he realized that someone was speaking to him. At first, he didn't recognize the voice. It was a man's voice, but he had never heard it before. As Zoro regained his focus, he blinked and saw Sanji standing next the helm. He was calmly standing there with a cigarette stuck between his fingers. He was talking to Zoro.

"Zoro? Come on. The crew is having a meeting." Sanji said soberly. He turned and walked back down to the deck without another word. His sober demeanor surprised Zoro. No mosshead, idiot, or dumbass? No insults at all? Zoro could hardly believe his ears. Zoro quickly realized just how seriously the others were taking this. Were they thinking the same thing that he was? Zoro slowly made his way onto the deck as he followed the cook to the grass lawn. As he arrived, Franky was the first to speak up.

"Well guys." He said looking at every one of them. "We are in some Super deep shit right now." He sighed and blinked. Zoro noticed that Franky's eyes were red and wet. Clearly, he had been crying, a lot. It seemed that everyone had shed tears by this point. Franky coughed before he continued. "Luffy's Devil Fruit powers are gone." He noticed that a few members of the crew flinched as he said that. Franky shook his head. "And pretending it's not true isn't going to make it go away. You all know what this means." Franky closed his eyes before speaking again. "It means we are vulnerable. Without Luffy's strength clearing our way, we can't continue." Robin nodded but didn't say a word. After a few moments of silence Franky began speaking again. "So what are we going to do?" His words were cold and felt like daggers against the crew's souls. Sanji was the first to answer.

"It's rather obvious isn't it?" He took a long drag from his cigarette. ""Luffy has a 400,000,000 beli bounty on his head. If the marines find out that he can't defend himself anymore, they will hound us day and night until we are all in custody. We are only left with one option." Brook ran forward and grabbed Sanji by the collar.

"Don't say it!" The skeleton said his voice thick with anger. "Don't you dare suggest that we disband!" Sanji raised his foot and shoved Brook back with a powerful kick that knocked him across the deck.

"Calm down. I wasn't going to suggest that." Sanji said. Usopp sighed and unfolded his arms.

"As much as I hate to admit it Sanji, that might be a good idea." Everyone snapped their heads in Usopp's direction. He put his hand up defensively. "Woah woah hang on, just hear me out. It might not be a terrible idea, at least for a while. I know none of us want to be separated again, but look at our options!" He put up two fingers. "One: We keep going as if nothing has happened. Inevitably, we are going to come across some guy that none of us will be able to handle, someone Luffy would have had to face. We won't be able to win and some of us could..." Usopp's words trailed off and he closed his eyes. After a few seconds he continued. "That leaves us with our second option! Hiding. Like Sanji said, the marines WILL find out about this eventually. And then we are all screwed. We can't just-" Usopp was cut off by Brook.

"No!" The skeleton shouted. "The entire crew promised. We promised each other, and we promised Luffy that we would never separate again! I refuse to go back on my word." Brook drew his sword and pointed it towards the sky. "If I did, I would never be able to face Luffy again." Before he could continue, Franky stepped forward.

"Okay let's be reasonable here." He pointed at Usopp. "That's out of the question for three reasons. One: exactly as Brook said. I refuse to leave Luffy now, especially in his condition. Two: Where are we all going to go? The marines will hunt us down one by one. This time, they will be able to follow our trails away from this island. Three: How would we all get to wherever we plan on going?" He shook his head. "It's just not possible for us to split again." Usopp threw his hands up in the air.

"OKAY FINE! WHAT'S YOUR BRILLIANT IDEA THEN HUH!? ATLEAST I'M TRYING! YOU AREN'T EVEN HELPING YOUR JUST SHOOTING DOWN MY IDEAS!" Usopp shouted. Franky wouldn't back down.

"HEY SOMEONE HAS TO KEEP A COOL HEAD AROUND HERE. IT OBVIOUSLY ISN'T GOING TO BE YOU!" Franky shouted as he took a step closer to Usopp. Before the two could escalate further, Sanji and Zoro stepped between them. Sanji looked at Franky and then at Usopp.

"That's enough both of you! Shouting at each other is getting us nowhere." Franky laughed.

"Yeah that means a lot from the guy who viciously kicked his own crew mate across the deck screaming at him earlier. You didn't seem to care about shouting when you were trying to kill Zoro!" Sanji turned back and faced Franky.

"Hey that was completely different and you know it!" Sani said in his own defense. Franky stepped closer as if he was ready to fight. If that was the case, Sanji would give him one.

A quiet giggling broke the tension that had been growing among the crew for the last few minutes. The crew stopped and looked around trying to find the source of the noise. Robin was the first to figure it out. Over on the stairs leading up to the infirmary was Nami, sitting on the top step listening to the meeting. She had her elbow resting on her knee and head resting on her hand. As the crew noticed her presence she spoke.

"You guys are all morons you know that?" She said. Robin and Sanji made their way over to the bottom of the steps. Nami at some point during the discussion had stood up, made her way to the stairs and climbed them without anyone noticing. Sani and Robin walked over to the steps and looked up at the young woman. Sanji began climbing the stairs to get to her.

"Nami, are you okay? Do you feel up to moving around?" His answer was met with an annoyed kick from the young woman that sent him bouncing back down the steps.

"I'm fine." She lifted her head to face the entire crew. "I'm sick of all this crap. Listen to yourselves: You are all talking like our captain is dead!" Her voice got louder as she spoke. "Get this through your thick skulls: Luffy is alive. Do you honestly believe that Luffy would let you guys disband the crew or go into hiding? Screw that. He's going to be the king of the pirates, he won't let something like this stop him. And he sure as hell wouldn't want his crew fighting each other. Every single one of you should be ashamed for thinking this way. You guys need to row up and trust your captain." As she finished speaking, she walked up to the door to the infirmary. She walked up to the door and grabbed the handle. Before she opened it, she stopped and turned around. With a smile on her face she addressed the crew one last time. "Come on guys, you should be celebrating; your captain is alive." Nami opened the door walked in and gently closed it behind her.

The crew made no noise after their navigator departed. Everyone stood there cursing themselves for their own foolishness. Finally, Robin spoke up.

"She's right." Robin turned and walked to the railing overlooking the cove. "Luffy IS alive and he's still our captain." Sanji walked over and stood next to her. He threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah." He said as a smile crept across his face. "He's too damn stubborn to let this slow him down and if he won't stop, we won't stop. If he can't use his Devil Fruit powers anymore, then he will just have to learn a new way to fight." He lifted his foot and placed it on the railing of the ship. "He has the size and physical strength to be on hell of a hand to hand specialist." Zoro laughed.

"Yeah right." He said as he walked over drawing one of his swords. He stabbed the ground near Sanji's feet. "If he does that, during combat he will instinctively revert back to trying to use his powers. He needs a whole new style of fighting." Zoro pulled his sword out of the ground and pointed it at Sanji. "I'll teach him how to be a swordsman. He can practice with me and Brook." Sanji laughed and kicked Zoro's sword out of his face.

"You are out of your moss covered skull!" Before he could say another word, Franky stepped in between them.

"Now now calm down you two." Franky flexed his arms and struck his signature pose. "I think we all know that Luffy would want to become an asskicking SUPER cyborg like me! Swords and kicks are fine, but cyborgs would crush both of them and you both know it." Zoro, Sanji and Franky began arguing and shouting at one another trying to decide who would teach Luffy how to fight again. Brook stood up and wiped his eyes. He picked up his own sword and put it back into its sheath. The musician smiled at Usopp.

"Huh. Isn't it interesting how quickly the mood changed? Just the thought of him still leading us has restored hope to everyone. It's quite inspirational. I…I am sorry that I snapped at you Usopp. Plese forgive me." Usopp nodded and Brook smiled. "Well then, I think we will need some music before those three start fighting." He laughed as he ran over to the arguing men. Usopp agreed and ran over yelling something about Luffy and ranged combat. Robin watched him run with a smile.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Robin. She walked over to Chopper, not bothering to listen to what the others were doing. Chopper was sitting against the tree on deck. He hadn't participated in the meeting at all. Robin figured he was scared of what the crew would have ended up deciding, but Chopper had a strange look in his eye. Robin looked at him trying to figure out what he was thinking. She knelt down next to him.

"Doctor," She asked snapping him out of his stupor. She smiled at him.

"Oh. Hi Robin." Chopper asked still slightly distracted.

"You look like you lost in thought." She said smiling. "You seem quite focused." Chopper nodded.

"Uhh yeah, I..I was just thinking." He stopped talking but Robin didn't leave. She knelt there looking at the doctor, silently willing him to continue. After a brief moment Chopper spoke again. "I spent a lot of time thinking and researching Devil Fruit in general. I learned a lot, but while I was reading I came up with a hypothesis. It might be my own way of trying to fix this whole situation, but I don't care. I like my idea." He stopped speaking again. Robin pushed further.

"And? What's your hypothesis?" Chopper looked at Robin and sighed.

"Well, the exact way a Devil Fruit alters the human body is still a mystery, but the current theory is that the fruit become part of the persons mind. Since many people who eat Devil Fruit instinctively figure out how to use their powers, scientists believe that it integrates itself into the brain. If that is true, and the powers that are accompanied with eating a Devil Fruit are biologically part of the body, then it may heal just like any other injury." Chopper smiled at Robin. Robin was a bit shocked. She turned her head when she heard a loud splash and shouting. She ignored it and kept speaking.

"So, you think that, given time, Luffy's powers will return?" Chopper nodded.

"Precisely. It's just a hypothesis and I don't have enough data to back it up or even prove it, but..." Chopper shook his head. "Luffy may heal, or one of them," He nodded towards Sanji and Franky. Zoro was gone, but Robin could hear him shouting. It sounded like Zoro was shouting from the water next to the ship. "Will teach Luffy how to fight without them." Zoro Climbed back onto the ship his face red with anger. He leapt at Sanji who quickly countered his blade. As the two focused on each other, Franky came out of nowhere and shoved them both into the sea. Chopper chuckled and turned his attention away from them. "Who knows, Luffy may be able to eat a new Devil Fruit now." Robin shook her head.

"Well, I guess we will find out soon wont we?" She stood up and turned to walk up the stairs to the helm. She was lost in thought. As she reached the top of the ship, she looked over to the tress and saw someone standing near the shore.

* * *

Nami closed the door to the infirmary behind her. When the door closed she quickly put her back against it and listened. She wanted o make sure that no one was following her. After a few moments of silence, she was satisfied stepped away from the door and smiled. She turned her head towards the bed. She didn't know what she expected him to look like, but she was surprised to see that Luffy looked exactly the same has he did when she saw him yesterday. As soon as she laid her eyes on him she felt better. The last few days had been an agonizing storm for her but there had always been on beacon of light that made everything better: Luffy. She was so happy just to be able to see him. She walked towards the bed where he had spent the last day. She smiled. He looked so peaceful. Nami laid her hand on Luffy's cheek. She ran her fingers down his face and onto his arm. She then slid her fingers down to his hand and rested her hand on his.

"You have to be so bored..." She said quietly. Nami looked around for the chair that she had used the last time she had been in here. She spotted it against the far wall. It was upside down. 'It had probably been in Chopper's way.' She thought as she walked over to get it. She lifted it and propped it back up as quietly as she could. It wasn't that heavy but she didn't want to disturb him. As she turned around to push the chair over to the bed she saw something that made her scream. Luffy was standing next to her. Nami fell backwards and hit her back against the wall. Luffy looked worried.

"Nami? You okay?" He asked kneeling down next to her. She was so surprised to see him standing that she couldn't respond. That didn't bother him at all. He just smiled. "Oh I must have scared ya. Sorry." He said throwing her a toothy grin. He helped Nami to her feet and looked at the chair. "I'm guess you wanted to take this-" His sentence was cut off by Nami throwing herself at him. She wrapped her arms around him and knocked him to the floor. The two hit the wooden floor with a loud thud. Nami didn't care. She squeezed him as hard as she dared to. She didn't know how badly he hurt but she still wanted to hug him. She squeezed him as tears of joy rolled down her face but she didn't care about those either. Nami lifter her head to his and gave him a long passionate kiss. Feeling her lips against his was like a drug to her. She never wanted it to stop. Suddenly, Luffy began coughing, forcing the passionate kiss to an end. She let him go and sat back on her knees, giving him enough room to cough. After a few coughs, Luffy looked up at her. "Sorry about that." He said. She smiled at him.

"It's fine. I was about done anyway." She said as she stood up." Luffy had a sad look on his face.

"But I wasn't" He pouted. Nami smiled and rolled her eyes. She held out her hand to help Luffy up.

"Yeah well look what happened. You can't hold a kiss like that in your condition. You will have to wait until you're better." Nami scolded. He didn't act any different either. Was Chopper sure that about his diagnosis? Luffy sighed and took her outstretched hand. She pulled him to his feet and let go of his hand. Luffy pointed to the chair and Nami nodded. He picked up the chair and took it over to the bed for her. Luffy sat down on the bed and Nami sat down in the chair. "So Luffy," Nami asked. She hesitated before she continued. " do you feel?" Luffy shrugged and lay back onto the bed.

"I'm fine." He said nonchalantly. He giggled after he said it. "That's a boring question. Let's talk about what you guys have been doing while I have been in bed." Luffy quickly sat up. As he sat up he winched a little in pain, but it quickly passed. "You guys didn't kick anyone's ass without me did you?" Nami chuckled and looked down at the floor. Her hair covered her eyes as she spoke.

"No. We are hiding in a cove on the island Chopper saw before the attack." Nami said quietly. She was about fed up with Luffy. Her anger was growing with every word he spoke.

"Oh. Hmm... Nah that's boring." Luffy jumped out of bed and landed on his feet with another wince. This one lasted a bit longer than the last. "There's a city right? Let's go into the city. I want to do something fun!" Nami bit her lower lip. That was all that she could take. She lost her temper.

"LUFFY ENOUGH!" She screamed. Her sudden outburst shocked Luffy and he backed away from her. He looked confused but Nami didn't care. He knew exactly what she was angry about. "Please just stop." Luffy tilted his head at her.

"Stop what?" He asked. Nami clenched her fists as tears rolled down her eyes.

"This...this whole strong man charade. You are so badly hurt, and we all know it! Why do you have to keep pretending that you don't feel anything?" Luffy turned to look away from Nami. "I am amazed that you can stand at this point yet your are trying to run off into town and have an adventure. You are standing here in front of me claiming that you are completely fine. We both know you're not. You're in so much pain. Why can't you just tell me?" Luffy walked over to the bed. His hat was sitting on a small table next to it. He picked it up and put it on her head. He stayed silent for a few moments.

"Because I am the Captain. " He said finally without looking at Nami. "I have to be the strongest. I have to be the best. A crew needs to be able to trust their captain no matter what. If I am crying in pain, what kind of Captain am I?" He said with a dark tone. Nami was about to protest, but suddenly Luffy's expression changed and he looked down at his arm. He clenched and unclenched his fist a few times. "Huh?" He said quietly. Nami looked up at him. She wiped her tears out of her eyes.

"What's wrong?" She asked knowing the answer already. She figured that he would lie to her. Instead, his answer surprised her.

"I dunno." He said rubbing his arm. "My skin feels...ichy." Nami gasped throwing her hand over her mouth.

"Luffy..." She asked him hesitantly. "Have you...Did Chopper talk to you?" Luffy shook his head. Nami tilted her head down again. 'He doesn't know.' She thought in horror. 'He doesn't know about his powers being gone.' She looked up at him, refusing to make eye contact. Luffy was confused.

"Nami? What's wrong? You're crying again. I don't like it when you cry." He said innocently. Nami put her finger to her mouth and bit it gently. She didn't know how to tell Luffy that he was just a regular person now. She had honestly hoped that Chopper would be the one to deal with that. She took her finger away from her mouth and looked at Luffy again. What she saw brought more tears to her eyes. "Hey what the hell is going on?" Luffy demanded as he threw his arm forward.

'He's trying to stretch...' Nami thought as her whole body quivered.

"Hey this isn't funny. My arm isn't stretching. I'm made of rubber I always stretch." He began examining the rest of his body. He pulled at his legs, his hands, his ears and the he went to grab his face. Nami could take it. Every time he tried to stretch himself, he left red marks and scratches on his skin. As he reached up to pull his cheek out, Nami reached forward and grabbed his hands.

" Luffy… Please stop." She pleaded still refusing to look into his eyes.

"Nami, what's going on?" Luffy stopped and looked around. He looked at the bed and at eh floor. "Is there a sea prism stone in here? No wait, I'm not all weak and tired." He started whining and asking his skin to stretch like it was supposed to. Nami sighed. She had to shut him up. She had to tell him. She reaches up and clamped her hand across Luffy's mouth. He stopped talking immediately.

"Luffy..." She had his complete and undivided attention. It wasn't fair to keep him in the dark any longer. "Luffy you can't stretch anymore." Luffy tilted his head to the side in confusion so Nami continued. "The marines... They tried to kill you but instead... instead they killed your Devil Fruit Powers." Luffy blinked twice as if he didn't understand. Tears rolled down Nami's face. "You aren't made of rubber. You have turned back into a normal person!" Nami's voice grew louder and louder as she spoke. She kept talking trying to burn his situation into his head any way she could. "I'm sorry Luffy, but YOU AREN'T MADE OF RUBBER ANYMORE!

* * *

**End Chapter 6**


	7. Chapter 7: Luffy's Acceptance

**One Piece: The Agony of Weakness:**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

The sun had set and the crew had turned in for the night. The entire ship was silent. Nami stood on the deck of the Sunny among her tangerine trees with Luffy's straw hat sitting comfortably on her head. She felt comfortable among the orange fruit. As she ran her hand over one of the fruit, her thoughts drifted back to her conversation with Luffy. She had told him that his Devil Fruit powers were gone but she wasn't prepared for his reaction.

He lost it. That was the best way Nami could think to describe it. Luffy had collapsed to his knees and cried on the floor. Nami had done her best to comfort him and, after what felt like an eternity, it seemed to have worked. Luffy had been reclusive and silent for the rest of the day though. That made Nami uncomfortable.

Nami sighed and walked towards the stairs. As she reached the top of the stairs, she looked over the ship. Most of the crew was asleep. She had volunteered to stay on watch that night. The crew had had a hard day and she wanted them to relax as much as possible. As Nami scanned the ship she saw a familiar silhouette sitting on the lion figurehead of the ship. Her hand slowly reached up to her head and she gripped the brim of the straw hat. Luffy had put it on her head after he had woken up, but he never taken it back. Honestly, Nami was in no rush to return it. She loved wearing that hat. Her eyes drifted to the young man sitting on the figurehead.

"I should go over and talk to him." She said aloud to no one. Luffy finally seemed to be accepting his fate. Like he had told her earlier: He was the captain. He had to be strong no matter what happened. His words did little to console her. Nami knew that Luffy was only trying to protect her but she wished Luffy would just talk to her about how he was feeling. She looked up towards the sky. 'Now that I think about,' Nami thought. 'He never even talked about his brother's death. Every traumatic event that he goes through is shoved to the back of his mind. He never deals with them.' Nami began descending the stairs. "Well that stops right now." She said aloud, her voice thick with Nami attitude. "There's no damn reason he needs to deal with everything by himself. Dammit I'm here for him and he needs to get that through his thick skull!" She stopped talking as she stepped onto the grass lawn. She looked back to where Luffy was sitting. From her current position, she was unable to see him. The figure head was blocking her view. She took a deep breath and walked across the lawn. As she walked, she began to have second thoughts. 'Maybe it would be best for him be alone right now?' Nami shook her head and quickly tossed those thoughts aside. She couldn't afford to stop now. She crossed the lawn and walked up the stairs leading to the helm of the ship. She stopped next to the helm. She hesitated for a moment to see if he was going to make the first move. After a few moments, it became apparent that he was not. So Nami spoke up. "Hey, Luffy?" She called. "You still awake up there?" his response came back quickly.

"Yeah, I'm awake." He said. His voice seemed almost cheerful. Nami walked up to the figure head and stopped next to it.

"Can I come up and sit with you?" Nami asked.

"Sure." He replied. As soon as he finished speaking he appeared at the top of the figure head holding out his hand. Nami smiled and took his hand. "Careful. I don't want you to fall." Luffy said. Even now he was so caring and gentle. He gripped Nami's hand and helped her over the figurehead and down onto the nose in front of the ship. Nami stepped onto the nose expecting Luffy to let go of her hand. Instead he held her hand as he slid down onto the nose. He stood there next to her silently looking out over the dark waves. Neither one of the said anything for a while. Nami was okay with that. Just having someone near him was probably helping him. Her goal here wasn't to force information out of him; it was to make sure that Luffy knew that he COULD talk to Nami if he wanted to. She wanted him to know that she was there for him. After a few moments of silence Luffy finally spoke. "It's not fair you know?" Nami looked at him. She guessed that her plan had worked. Luffy sat down on the lion and stared out over the sea.

"I know babe..." Nami said quietly as she sat down next to him. She didn't know what she could say to him. As she tried to think of something else to say, he kept speaking.

"I have been rubber for as long as I can remember. My Gum Gum attacks are how I fight. I don't know any other way." Luffy turned his head and looked at Nami. She could see the tears beginning to form in his eyes. "Zoro and Sanji want to teach me how to fight the way they do, but I don't want to kick or use swords. I want my Gum Gum back." Nami was completely lost for words at this point. She wanted Luffy to open up to her but she never honestly expected him to. Luffy sighed and leaned towards Nami resting his head on her shoulder. Nami finally found something to say to him.

"So, you're lost?" She asked. Luffy didn't respond. Nami leaned her head toward Luffy's and rested it against his. "You are trapped and you have no idea how you are going to go on?" Luffy chuckled.

"Nami?" He asked quietly. "You aren't helping." Nami smacked his leg.

"I'm working on it shut up." She said half sternly. Luffy sat there listening. "Good. You know Luffy, I was like that once. I was lost and alone. I had no one. I had taken on a burden that no one else could carry and I refused to let anyone get near me." Nami sighed. She was talking about her days under the evil fishman Arlong. She was forced to work for him in exchange for the safety of her home village. She was a slave with no hope of freedom. "I was ready to give into my fate and I had no way to stop it. But then something happened." She lifted her head and looked at Luffy. He did the same. "I met you." She said sweetly. She raised her hand to her hat on her head. "You picked me up, you fought for me. You forced me to understand that I couldn't handle everything by myself. You made me realize that even I needed help sometimes. I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for you." Nami slipped her fingers in between his. "You made me realize that there is always a way out. And you know what? There's a way out of this too." Nami leaned over and kissed Luffy. "You were there for me. Please let me be here for you. We will find some way to help you. We will get your powers back." Nami winked at Luffy. "Have a little faith in your crew captain. Have a little faith in me." Luffy wiped his eyes and smiled at her.

"Yeah. You're right. You and Chopper are real smart. You guys will find some way to fix me." He said calmly. Nami smiled and nodded.

"We will. I promise." Nami smiled. Luffy finally seemed to be calming down. She could see it in his eyes. "Now you have to promise me something." She said. She raised her hand back to the hat. She gently pulled it off her head letting her hair catch the string as she pulled. The string let go and Nami's hair fell back down onto her shoulders. Luffy watched admiring how beautiful Nami was sitting in the moonlight. Nami took the hat and placed it back onto Luffy's head. Luffy smiled and waited for her to continue. "You have to promise me that you will keep your spirits up. Please don't let this take the light out of your eyes." Luffy locked his eyes onto Nami's. "Promise me." She said. Luffy nodded and leaned in and kissed her lips. The two stayed locked together for a few second before Luffy broke it off.

"I promise." Luffy said with a smile. Nami smiled back.

"And from now on, no hiding your feelings from me. I don't want you keeping your emotions bottled up like this anymore. It's not good for you." Luffy tilted his head to the side. "I would trust you if something was bothering me. Don't you trust me?" She asked playfully shooting Luffy a pair of puppy dog eyes. Luffy's head snapped back up and he nodded.

"Of course I do. But I am captain I just can't..." He scratched his head. "Alright. But I can't talk like that around the rest of the crew." He stated firmly. Nami giggled. She loved watching him being a serious captain. It was adorable.

"That's fine. I just don't like you lying to me." Luffy nodded and promised her again. The pair sat there in silence for a while, just watching the stars above them.

"Hey Nami?" Luffy asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

You are going to stay out here with me right?" He asked innocently. A large smile spread across her face.

"Of course. I wouldn't dream of leaving you by yourself." She laid her head on his shoulder. "I will always be here Luffy. I promise." Luffy nodded and laid his head on hers.

"Good." He said. "I like it when you are with me." He said. "And I trust you with my life Nami. You and Chopper will find someth-" Nami lifter her hand and laid it across his mouth.

"Shush." Nami said sweetly. "Stop worrying. Okay? Let's just enjoy this quiet night." Luffy nodded and fell silent. The pair sat there in silence for the rest of the night, listening to the waves and watching the stars.

* * *

The next morning, Nami decided to talk to Chopper about what they could do about Luffy's problem. After a fun breakfast of watching Franky trying to measure Luffy for his robotic replacements, and Zoro and Sanji fighting over who was going to stop Franky, Nami left the dining room. As she left she could hear Luffy shouting for someone to help him. She ignored him and headed for Chopper's office. Chopper was sitting at his desk surrounded by books. He had skipped breakfast entirely. Nami wondered if he had slept at all last night. She walked over to the desk and leaned over the young reindeer.

"Hey Chopper," Nami said. "Can I talk to you about something?" Chopper looked up from his book and focused on Nami. He looked a bit annoyed about the interruption but he nodded, turning his eyes back to the book.

"What's up Nami? Are you feeling sick?" Chopper asked only half paying attention. Nami shook her head.

"No, it's about Luffy." She said calmly. That got Chopper's attention. He spun his chair around and faced Nami. He crossed his arms seriously.

"What about him?" He asked, his tone matching his serious pose. Nami tried not to smile at the adorable sight.

"Well I was wondering if you had any ideas on how to help him. I know you have some kind of plan by now." Chopper averted his eyes as she spoke. "I knew it! I want to help and you don't get to refuse." Nami added threateningly. Chopper shuddered at Nami's threatening tone and sighed.

"Look Nami," Chopper said nervously. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't think-" Nami cut him off mid-sentence.

"No. I am helping you. End. Of. Story." Nami ordered glaring into Chopper's eyes. Chopper jumped out of his chair and hid behind his desk, his body sticking out from behind the desk.

"You cant!" He snapped trying to make himself as little as possible. Nami slammed her hand down on his desk and Chopper yelped. "Please don't hit me! Just hear me out!" Nami nodded but kept her fist on the desk in Choppers view. He swallowed and continued. "I...I do have an idea, but it's more of a hypothesis..." Nami nodded.

"Yeah Robin told me. You think that Luffy's body will naturally restore his Devil Fruit powers given time. She also told me that you have something else up your sleeve and you are letting her help you. You sent her into town this morning to buy you a few things right?" Nami accused. Chopper shuddered again. "I knew it. You just don't want my help!"

"No no no no that's not it at all! I just..." Chopper ducked his head as Nami brought her fist up. "No wait! I just think you are too emotional to think clearly that's all! A process like this requires complete and utter focus. We can't afford to have your emotions endangering the process!" Nami blinked a few times listening to Chopper. She paused and released her fist. She stood there silently contemplating his words. She sat down on Chopper's chair and thought about it.

"Okay. You are right." She said. "I WAS too emotional. Now I'm fine. My head is clear and I want to help you in any way I can." Chopper looked down at the floor. Before he could respond, she continued. "Okay hang on. I'll make you a deal. If I am too emotional, you can kick me out and I won't bother you anymore. Deal?" Chopper nodded and slowly came out behind the desk. "Okay cool. So why don't you run your hypothesis past me? Start at the beginning." Chopper hesitantly agreed and laid out his entire theory to Nami.

* * *

Robin walked down the street of the city of Cardioa. Chopper had sent her out to buy several medicinal ingredients and a book that he didn't already have. She looked at her list. She had already obtained five of the ten items on the list and she was looking for a shop that would be able to provide her with the rest. She wandered down the road dodging people as she walked. After a while, she found a store that might be able to provide the items. As she walked towards the door, a young man stepped in front of her and blocked her from entering the store. The man stood in front of her just staring at her. Robin smiled at him.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Robin asked sweetly. The man glared at her.

"Yeah you can. Tell me: how did you get onto this island?" His gravelly voice had an accusing tone to it. Trying not to seem suspicious, Robin answered.

"Well, I came to the island with a few of my friends." She answered simply. She didn't lie to the man, but she had to be careful what information she revealed. This island was Navy territory and there was a Navy base on the island. In fact, Robin could see the base from the street she was on. This man could be a spy for the marines.

"Yeah yeah," He answered. "But HOW?" He demanded. Something was wrong. This guy was too demanding in his questions. Robin had dealt with the marines hundreds of times, and she got a marine feeling from this guy. She became extremely uncomfortable speaking to him. Robin nodded.

"We were dropped off by our ship. We are travelers." She responded. The man wasn't satisfied. Robin continued. "We are simple travelers that are visiting all of the islands in the New World. We are working on a book about all of the various islands and their climates. This island was next on our agenda. That's all." The man crossed his arms. Without another word, he turned and walked away.

As she looked over the man, she noticed a "Marine" tattoo on his lower arm confirming her fears. Robin's blood ran cold. Were the marines on to them? She quickly walked into the store bought her supplies and left.

On her way back to the Sunny, Robin made sure to take a long path that led around most of the island before sneaking back to the ship. She did everything she could to make sure she wasn't followed.

* * *

Sanji kicked down the door to the kitchen and scanned the room. He walked into the room and looked around.

"Dammit," He mumbled as he turned on his heel and walked back out the door. "Not here either." He walked out onto the balcony. At the same time, the hatch leading to the lower levels of the ship burst open. Franky climbed out with a confused look on his face. Sanji called to him. "Hey Franky! Any luck?" The cyborg shook his head.

"Nah. I can't find him anywhere." He jumped out of the hatch and closed it behind him. "You don't think Zoro found him first do you?" Sanji shook his head.

"No way. That Mosshead can't even find himself. There's no way he could catch Luffy, with or without his powers. Franky nodded. "Whatever, I know what will bring him out. I'm going to cook some lunch. Wherever he is he will come running." Franky laughed.

"SUPER idea there cook." Franky said as he climbed the stairs. "But I'm not just going to let you have him. I know that Luffy wants to become a SUPER cyborg like me. He-" Sanji cut him off by raising his hand.

"No way. I'm done debating this. The whole point of this man hunt is to let Luffy decide what HE wants to do for his new fighting style. I'll cook, you grab him and the useless swordsman can go fall in a ditch." Franky laughed as Sanji walked back into the kitchen.

"Alright. You have a point. I'll stay out here to keep watch for him. I'll be able to grab him real easy without his powers. We already screwed this up once. Maybe we shouldn't have jumped him as while he was sleeping. We scared the piss out of him!" Franky laughed harder as he remembered the first time he, Zoro and Sanji attacked Luffy that morning. It had been during breakfast. They wanted him to decide immediately who would be teaching him how to fight. They wanted an answer that morning and they were going to get it. During the resulting struggle, Luffy used his Haki to fight all three of them off and ran. He was hiding somewhere on the ship but none of them could find him. Franky scratched his head. "Hey Sanji, do you think we are pushing him too quickly? Do you think he needs a few days to come to terms with what has happened?" He asked as he walked into the kitchen and sat down. Sanji sighed.

"Whether he is ready or not isn't the issue. He's Monkey D. Luffy. He is an infamous pirate captain. He has declared war on the World Government, made enemies out of most of the Seven Warlords, and personally challenged one of the Four Emperors. He doesn't have the luxury of being traumatized you know that. It's only a matter of time before the Navy finds us. If he's going to be the King of the Pirates, he needs to be adaptable." Franky nodded.

"Yeah I guess so. I just have never seen him this down you know?" Franky shrugged. "Ah well no use sitting around. I'll go keep and eye out." Franky headed towards the door and walked out. As he stepped onto the balcony, he saw Nami walking up the stairs. "Hey Nami!" She turned stopped ascending and looked over towards Franky. "What's up? Before you go anywhere I got a question for you." Nami nodded shifting her shoulders uncomfortably. It seemed that she was going somewhere in a hurry. Before Franky could continue, Sanji burst out of the kitchen door knocking Franky off the balcony with a swift kick.

"NAMI-SWAN!" Sanji shouted as he jumped over to her. He landed on one knee in front of her holding a glass of wine in his hand. He held it up for her. "Here you go my darling. A fine wine for a perfect lady." Nami took the drink and took a quick sip from it.

"Oh wow it's great. Thank you Sanji!" Nami exclaimed. Sanji threw himself back towards the door squealing in delight. He seemed to float back into the kitchen. Nami could her him giggling and dancing in the kitchen. She could hear him saying something about stealing her away from Luffy and sweeping her off her feet. Nami shook her head.

'As if. That's not gonna happen.' She thought. She heard a grumble from the deck below her. She glanced over the railing and saw Franky walking back towards the stairs. "Franky? You wanted to ask me something?" The cyborg nodded rubbing his neck.

"Uh yeah. Bastard. That hurt. Where the hell did he even come from?" He glared at the entrance to the kitchen but then shook his head and turned his attention back to Nami. "Yeah. You look busy so I won't keep you, but do you know where Luffy is? I haven't seen him since our breakfast brawl and we are looking for him. I figured if anyone would know where he is it would be you." Nami took another sip of her wine and took a moment to enjoy the flavor. After a few seconds she shook her head.

"Sorry Franky. I haven't seen him." She answered. Franky frowned. "Last time I saw him you guys were mauling him at the breakfast table." Franky laughed

"Alright. Thanks anyway." He walked past her and walked onto the balcony. "So where are you off to in such a hurry?" Nami sipped at her wine again and finished off her drink. She looked at the glass with a disappointed look.

"I'm on my way to the library to work on a few of my charts that have been collecting dust." She looked at Franky and then back at her glass. "Come to think of it, I think I'll take some more of that wine with me." She looked towards the door to the kitchen. "Hey Sanji?" Nami called. "Could I have that bottle? I would like some more while I'm working on my charts." She could hear a series of loud thuds from the kitchen and Sanji leapt out of the door with the bottle in hand. He jumped towards Nami kicking Franky out of the way again sending him flying over the railing back down towards the grass lawn. He held out the bottle.

"Here you go my darling..." He said as Nami quickly grabbed the bottle out of Sanji's hand before he finished talking. Suddenly a large metal hand grabbed Sanji's leg and pulled him off of his feet and over the railing.

"NOT THIS TIME YOU LITTLE TURD!" Franky shouted as he pulled on the chain that connected his hand to his arm. "IF I'M GOING-" Franky slammed into the deck still pulling Sanji down. "-YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" He shouted as he slammed Sanji into the grass. Sanji jumped up and started shouting at Franky. Nami rolled her eyes and continued walking up the stairs. She reached the top of the stairs and walked across the deck past her Tangerine trees. As she walked by, she gently ran her fingers across them. Without breaking stride, she gently grabbed one and pulled it off of the stem. She continued to the library door and opened it. She walked in and closed the door. She glanced around the room and smiled. On her desk sat an innocent straw hat. She walked over to the couch that encircled the room and sat down. She took a bite of the tangerine.

"Luffy?" She said after she swallowed her bite. "It's okay it's only me. You can come out." She looked over at her desk and saw Luffy pop his head out from under it. He looked around the room and sighed before crawling out. Nami smiled as she poured herself another glass of wine and watched him climbing out from under her desk. It reminded her of a scared child hiding from monsters. 'Come to think of it, that's a pretty accurate comparison.' She thought with a smile.

"Phew. I was worried there for a sec. I thought they had found me for sure!" Luffy giggled as he sat down in Nami's chair. He turned the chair so that it was facing Nami. "Are you sure they won't look in here for me?" Luffy asked nervously. Nami nodded and held up the bottle of wine. She motioned towards the desk with her head.

"Don't worry. They won't look here. Here, sit this on my desk would ya?" She said as she tossed the bottle to Luffy. He caught it and sat it on the table behind him. Nami motioned for Luffy to join her over on the couch. She didn't want to chance him knocking the bottle over on her charts. She knew that he wouldn't, but she was paranoid about her charts. He got up and walked over to the couch and sat down next to Nami. He put his arm around her shoulders and leaned his head back against the cool wood of the wall. "This is the library. There's nothing but books in here. I don't think you have ever been in this room. Why would you be in here now?" Nami asked. Luffy giggled and nodded. She peeled off a piece of the tangerine and put it in front of Luffy's mouth. "Here, open." She said and Luffy opened his mouth. She popped the fruit into his mouth and he happily chewed away. He finished chewing and swallowed before answering.

"Thanks." Luffy said. Nami nodded. "Yeah I guess so. I guess I panicked when all three of them surrounded me. I felt weak." Nami flicked his head gently.

"Hey. You promised me you weren't going to talk like that anymore." Luffy smiled at Nami and opened his mouth for another piece of tangerine. Nami sighed and popped another piece into his mouth.

"Yeah I know." He said as he chewed. "Sorry." He swallowed and rubbed his head where Nami flicked him. He groaned "Ugh I'm so bored of hiding on my own ship. I'm the captain! I shouldn't have to hide from my crew!" Nami smiled and took a sip of her wine.

"You know captain; you are welcome to get out of my library so that I can work in peace." She motioned towards the door. "I'm sure that Franky and Sanji would love to keep you occupied." Luffy shuddered and shook his head.

"Nah! I think I'll hang out in here. You are in here and I like being around you." He said sweetly. Nami felt her cheeks warm up a little. She smiled and gave Luffy a quick kiss on the cheek before she got up and walked over to her desk.

"Fine. But I have work that I have to get done. You need to behave got it?" Nami ordered. Luffy nodded with a big smile on his face. "Luffy I'm serious. As much I'd like to sit over there kissing you, I am behind schedule on my charts. I need you to leave me alone while I work, okay?" The grin on Luffy's face disappeared. As it vanished, Nami found herself wishing that it would come back.

"Finnnne." Luffy pouted. "I guess it's better than being stuck in the doctor's room with Chopper." Nami looked up as she remembered something.

"Oh that reminds me." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle of blue liquid. "Here Luffy, it's from Chopper. He said you have to drink this." Luffy tilted his head and looked at the bottle. Suddenly he jumped up.

"NO WAY! I know what that is!" He pointed his finger at the bottle in Nami's hand. "That's the stuff that tastes like mud! And it makes me sleepy!" Nami looked at the bottle and laughed.

"Its medicine you nitwit. Your physical injuries aren't healed yet. You still have to take your medicine regardless of what it tastes like." Nami said as she walked over to Luffy. She handed him the bottle. "Drink or you get thrown out with the three savages." Luffy pouted as he took the bottle. Nami smiled and walked back towards the table. He opened the bottle and drank it. He stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"Yuck! I don't like that stuff. Oh and two." He said as he sat back down. Nami put her glasses on and turned her head towards Luffy in confusion.

"Two?" She asked. Luffy nodded.

"Yeah two. Only Franky and Sanji. Zoro's gone." Nami raised one of her eyebrows and Luffy laughed. "Zoro jumped off the ship a while ago. I guess he thought I went into the woods." Luffy giggled. Nami giggled with him and took another sip of her drink. The two sat there in the library talking until Luffy started dozing off. The medicine Chopper made was made to put Luffy asleep which was fine. If he fell asleep in here, Nami could work and keep an eye on him. Nami turned towards her desk and began working. A few minutes later she looked over and saw Luffy passed out sleeping quietly. She smiled and got up from her desk. She walked over and kneeled down next to him.

"Sleep tight my king." She said as she kissed him. She stood up and went back to start working on her charts in peace.

* * *

Robin returned to the ship far later than she should have. She had to be sure that no one was following her. As she approached the cove, she heard something moving around on the beach ahead of her. She slowly made her way through the trees and peaked out onto the beach. It was Usopp. The Mini Merry sat quietly a few feet off shore. Robin breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the trees.

"Longnose. Good it's only you." Usopp turned and looked at her with a confused look. "I was a bit nervous there." Usopp walked towards her.

"Hey Robin are you alright?" Usopp asked confused. "You look like you saw a ghost." Robin took a few breaths and tried to calm down. Usopp glanced towards the trees as if waiting for something to follow her out. After a few seconds he turned his attention back to Robin. "What's going on?"

"I was...I was scared that I was being followed." Usopp let out yelp and ran towards the tree line. He drew back his slingshot and scanned the area behind the trees.

"I don't see anyone." He said after a few moments. "Brook is on patrol around an area that Nami and I planned out. I figured that he would be a good scout. His appearance might scare away anyone that ventures too close." He lowered his slingshot. "If you heard someone following you, it might have been him." Robin shook her head.

"No I mean from town. I was questioned by a man in town. He had a marine tattoo on his arm. I'm guessing that he was a recruit, but he was very suspicious of me." Robin shuddered. "I took a long route back that took me across most of the island. I did my best to make sure that I wasn't followed." Usopp glanced back at the tree line before looking back at robin.

"You are really scared about this. I can't remember the last time I saw you this spooked. Alright come on let's get back to the Sunny. I can smell Sanji cooking something." Robin agreed and the pair made their way over to the Mini Merry. They climbed in and returned to the ship. As they sailed towards the ship, Robin asked a question.

"Longnose, What about Brook?" She asked calmly. Usopp laughed.

"Bah don't worry about him. You know he can run across water. He will be fine." Robin accepted his answer with a shrug as the Mini Merry began to dock with the Sunny.

* * *

After securing the Mini Merry and closing the Soldier Dock System doors, Usopp and Robin made their way back onto deck. The first thing Robin realized as she climbed the ladder back onto deck was that she felt completely safe. Even if someone had followed her, Brook would have found them first. For a dusty old pile of bones, he was extremely reliable.

Robin opened the hatch and climbed out. Usopp hadn't started climbing yet; he was doing something to the Mini Merry before he came up. Robin walked across the deck and stretched. The Sun was high in the sky and Robin guessed it to be around 1:30 or so. She figured that it wasn't a bad time for a hot bath. She began walking towards the stairs; she heard a voice calling her name.

"Hey Robin! Hold up!" It was Usopp. His head poked out of the hatch that she had just came out of. "Robin! You forgot this!" He called as he tossed a bag over to her. It was the book and supplies that she had gone into town for. Robin was surprised that she had forgotten about them. She thanked Usopp and headed for Chopper's office. She was already late; there was no reason to be even later. As she walked past the kitchen, she could hear Chopper and Franky talking to Sanji. She walked into the kitchen.

"Hello everyone." She said politely. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Her remark was answered by a room full of no's and she smiled. Chopper jumped up and ran over to her.

"Robin, there you are. I was worried that you got lost." The young reindeer said. "So were you able to find everything?" He asked anxiously eyeing the bag in Robin's hand. She nodded.

"Yes doctor, I got everything on your list. Even the book." She handed everything to Chopper who squealed in delight and ran off to his office. As he vanished, Robin sat down at the bar. She hadn't even sat down before Sanji had a glass in front of her.

"Here you go my love. I made it special just for you." He said with a gracious bow. Robin thanked him and took a drink of the juice. After the first drink she looked at it strangely.

"Sanji, I was kind of hoping for that wine you got out this morning. Could I have some of that please?" Robin asked sweetly. Sanji collapsed on the floor and was practically in tears. He was unable to answer. Franky laughed and answered for him.

"What Cries-a-lot is trying to say, is that Nami snatched the bottle and took it with her to work on her charts. That was a while ago though. If you head up to the library..." Franky stopped. A look of terror crossed his face. He quickly jumped out of his seat. "OI Sanji! Did you look in the library?!" Sanji pulled himself up and looked at Franky.

"You have got to be kidding. Luffy? In the Library? Are you out of your metal brain? He wouldn't go in there even if his life depended on it." The cook said as he poured himself a drink of the juice he had given to Robin. Franky sat back down and put his head on his fist. Robin giggled.

"Well, I wouldn't mind a bit of that wine, I can check for you while I'm up there. Just in case." Both men agreed and Robin took her glass and left. She exited the kitchen and walked up the stairs to the library. As she approached the door she reached out to open the door and stopped. She put her ear to the door and listened closely for any noise from inside. Hearing nothing, she frowned and knocked on the door just in case. After a few seconds she heard someone walking towards the door. The door opened a little bit and Nami's face violently appeared in the door blocking Robin's view of the room behind her.

"This had better be...Oh Robin." Nami said. He tone changed dramatically as she realized who was at the door. Nami glanced around and then waved Robin in. Robin walked in and saw Nami desk a mess of papers and pencils. Clearly she had been busy. As she scanned the rest of the room, her eyes stopped on the young man quietly sleeping on the couch. A smile crawled across Robin's lips.

"Now I thought no one was allowed in here when you were working?" She asked Robin crossed her arms and looked at Nami. Nami laughed and scratched her head as if looking for the correct response.

"Well he promised to behave and he had to take his medicine and that made him fall asleep." Nami said as she half laughed. Robin nodded.

"Mhm. Still, I feel like he is probably the worst person for you to have in here when you are trying to work." She said throwing Nami a wink. Nami's face turned beat red.

"No no no no no! That wouldn't..I mean.." Nami sighed and looked down at the floor. "Why do you do this to me?" Nami asked with a smile. Robin shrugged.

"Because I like teasing you. And I think that you two make and absolutely perfect couple. I dare say that you two were meant to be together." The older woman chuckled as Nami's face went even redder. "But never mind that. I'm just here for the wine, if you are done with it." Nami's looked up quickly and looked over to the edge of her desk where Luffy had sat it. It wasn't there.

"Huh...I could have sworn Luffy had left it on the table there." Nami looked around the room trying to find it. Robin cleared her throat to get her attention. Nami turned to her and saw Robin pointing towards the couch. Nami looked over and saw Luffy lying on the couch, with the bottle of wine a few feet away on the floor. Unopened, just the way she left it. "When did he...?" She thought about it for a moment. It dawned on her. 'He must have brought it over to the couch to keep it out of my way. He was trying to help.' A smile spread across her face and she walked over to the couch. As she bent over to pick up the bottle, she stopped to give Luffy another quick kiss. "Thanks" She said quietly, not caring that Robin was watching. She stood up and walked back over to Robin with the bottle. She handed it to the older woman. Robin took the bottle, said thanks and headed for the door. As she came closer to the door, she stopped and turned.

"He is loveable isn't he?" She said. Nami picked up her glasses and put them back on as she sat down. She smiled and looked at Robin.

"Hey hey," Nami said teasingly. "He's mine back off." She said with a happy smile. Robin laughed and opened the door a little to leave.

"Oh don't worry Miss Navigator, I have one already and frankly, mines wayyy cuter." As she finished her sentence, she quickly ducked out the door and closed it behind her. Nami could hear her laughing as she walked away from the library. Nami couldn't help but smile as she stole one more glance at Luffy before getting back to work on her charts.

* * *

"Dammit." Zoro muttered as he stopped in the middle of a treeless clearing. He looked around and scoffed. "Now where the hell am I?"

* * *

**End Chapter 7**


	8. Chapter 8: Luffy Vanishes

**One Piece: The Agony of Weakness:**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Chopper sat in his office dutifully reading the new book that Robin had brought him. The room was bathed in candlelight as Chopper had covered the windows in order to prevent outside interruptions. It seemed like he had been in the same room for hours. Chopper was running on very little sleep but in his mind, Luffy was more important than sleep. Ever since he had gotten the book, his eyes had been plastered to it. His eyes were starting to hurt and he knew that he should take a break. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He was beginning to lose hope. The information in the book was not as helpful as he had hoped. He sighed and decided that he would read one more chapter then he would stop to take a break. After a few minutes of motionless reading, Chopper jumped to his feet.

"Here it is!" He exclaimed happily. He began reading the chapter that he had found. As he read, his happy mood slowly drained away. After five paragraphs he pushed the book away and sat back down in his chair. He slumped back and stared at the wooden ceiling. "So it's true...Dr. Vegapunk theorized this years ago." He sat back up and stared at the book. It was a journal written by a man who infiltrated the Navy six years ago in order to learn more about the mysterious Dr. Vegapunk. He tailed the "World's Smartest Man" for a year and a half, documenting everything he could about the man and his research. Obviously, the man's actions were seen as treason towards the Navy. After a year and a half, the man was discovered, tortured and supposedly executed. During his undercover work, he had sent all of his findings to an unnamed man within the revolutionary army to have published. This was the only way to ensure that the truth of the Navy's horrible experiments would ever see the light of day. Unfortunately, most of the volumes that were published were hunted down and seized by the Navy. There was only one volume that the Navy allowed to exist. They believe that it was no danger to them as it only housed a number of Dr. Vegapunk's theories. Most of the theories mentioned within this book were already a reality anyway, so the Navy did not care about it. The only one that was not a reality was dubbed the "Cure" for those who have been possessed by a Devil Fruit. The chapter explained that Dr. Vegapunk was truly convinced that a "cure" was possible. In fact, according to hints left throughout the chapter, progress on the experiment was already underway. However, this theory was never fully pursued. No one knows why Dr. Vegapunk suddenly abandoned the theory altogether and the author did not mention anything else about it in this book. There were subtle hints that Dr. Vegapunk may have possessed a Devil Fruit himself and decided that he didn't want a cure for himself, but this is only speculation.

Regardless, this book confirmed Chopper's theory and it may hold the key to saving Luffy. He pushed his chair away from the desk and stood up. "If he supported the work, then he knew it could be done. There is a way to cure Devil Fruit users..." Chopper said soberly. He shuddered as he thought about what would have happened if he had been hit by the poison. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "If the cure was developed in a lab, then there must be a way to reverse the effects. If Dr. Vegapunk did it, so can I!" He proclaimed proudly. Chopper jumped back into his seat and began reading again. He would use all of his knowledge to help his friend.

* * *

Robin leaned against the railing of the Sunny. She turned her face towards the sun; its warm rays a pleasant respite from the cold weather of the island. As much as she'd love to sit on the deck in the sunlight and read one of her novels, she had other things on her mind.

It had been sometime since she had last seen Zoro and she was getting rather worried. Sanji had told her that Zoro had gone into the forest in order to find Luffy. Apparently, they were still fighting over who would train Luffy. The ridiculous squabble made Robin laugh. If any of them stopped to think about it, Luffy would never be agree to letting one of his crew train him. He was too stubborn. Robin smiled and shook her head, her thoughts returning to Zoro. He was in the forest on a hostile Navy island.

"Not just any Navy island," Robin said grimly. "The home to a Navy Vice Admiral. But of all the Vice Admirals it could have been, why did it have to be him." Robin prayed that the crew wouldn't have to face this man in combat. But that was a problem for another time. Zoro was wandering the forest that she had come through earlier. If someone had been following her, and he had noticed and intervened, things could get very messy for the crippled pirate crew. Robin decided that something had to be done. Zoro had to found as soon as possible. An altercation with the locals was inevitable if he stayed out there. Robin began planning out a way to hunt the swordsman down. Her thoughts were interrupted by someone calling to her.

"ROBIN MY LOVE!" Sanji shouted as he flew across the deck. He Sky Walked across the deck until he landed right next to her. "I brought you some more of that wine you love almost as much as I love you." He said with hearts in his eyes. Robin giggled at the love sick cook. She gracefully took the drink from him and took a drink.

"Ahhh wonderful. Thank you." She said. As the words left her lips, Sanji squealed in delight falling to the floor. Robin took another drink before looking down at the man. "Hey Sanji?" She asked. "Do you know where the others are?" Sanji jumped back onto his feet and brushed off his clothes. He pulled out his box of cigarettes and put one in his mouth. He lit it as he considered her question.

"Hmm. I know Nami is in the library, and Brook is on patrol on the island." Sanji glanced up towards the sun trying to estimate the time. "He should be on his way back now that I think about it." He took a long drag from his cigarette. "Usopp is fishing near the opening to the cove, Franky's below deck doing something, Chopper's in his office, Mosshead who cares, and Luffy is still MIA. Why?" Robin pointed towards the island with her thumb. As she pointed, she saw Brook emerge from the forest.

"Well, isn't Zoro on the island?" She asked. Sanji nodded. Robin knew he wouldn't be happy about the idea of trekking across the entire island to find Zoro but she was sure that he would do it for her. As much as he supposedly hated the relationship that she and Zoro shared, Sanji would do whatever he could to make Robin happy.

"Yeah. He's been out there since breakfast." After a brief moment, Sanji sighed and his head drooped. He took a short drag from his cigarette and slowly dropped down to his knees. "You are worried about that idiot and you want to find him." Sanji laid his hands on the ground in front of him and dropped his cigarette on the deck. The lit cigarette landed on a few blades of grass and they caught fire. Robin quickly stamped the flame out with her foot. An arm popped out of the ground and picked the cigarette off the grass deck before it could do anymore damage.

"Precisely." She said holding the cigarette in her hand. Sanji sounded like he was ready to cry. She extended her hand to help Sanji to his feet. He looked up and smiled as she helped him up. "Think of it this way. We are in no shape to be running from the Navy right now, especially if we don't know where Luffy is. If our resident swordsman were to come across a group of Marines in the forest, it could be disastrous." Sanji nodded understandingly. Before he could answer, a familiar laugh echoed up the side of the ship. It was followed by a familiar voice.

"Oh yes. I could see how such a situation would be bad." Brook said happily pulling himself up onto deck. He laughed again as he walked over to the pair. His clothes were dirty from hours of walking through the forest. Robin couldn't help but think about how perfect Brook was for keeping people away from the cove. She didn't know the island culture very well, but she was willing to bet that evil skeletons were supposed to wander the forest. She noticed that Brook's legs were soaked from running across the water. "I suggest that we should organize a rescue party immediately. I have had eyes in the forest all morning but I sadly have not seen him. Even though I do not have eyes!" Brook and Robin laughed at his joke as Sanji shook his head.

"A lot of help that is." Sanji said taking his cigarette back from Robin's hand. "So we are going to be running blind. He could be anywhere on the island and we have no way to track him down. I don't like our odds. Robin my sweet, are you sure we can't just leave him out there?" He asked sweetly. Robin shook her head and smiled. "Very well!" Sanji exclaimed. "If this beautiful woman wants to go on shore to find the-" Sanji's head twitched in annoyance. "-Mosshead, then I will get everyone back to the ship to help. I'll go grab Usopp now." He jumped into the air and flew away using his Sky Walk. Robin and Brook watched him fly away and Brook laughed.

"That is a most useful technique. Do you think he would teach me how to use it?" He asked lifting his foot. "He jumps off of the air yes? That's almost as useful as running across water." He laughed and turned towards Robin. She shook her head.

"I doubt it. He learned it during our separation and he won't talk about that time for some reason. Oh by the way Brook, you have been watching the forest all morning right?" The skeleton nodded. "Did you happen to see me while you were out there?" Brook nodded again.

"Why yes. I noticed you not long after you entered the forest. My eyes may be old but they can always detect a beautiful woman. Even though I have no eyes!" He laughed making another skull joke. Robin didn't laugh this time so he stopped and continued. "I assumed that you were heading back to the ship but you were going the wrong way. I tried to catch up to you but I became distracted." Robin looked at him in confusion.

"Distracted? By what?" The skeleton laughed picking up his cane sword. He slowly began pulling it out of its sheath.

"Another presence within the forest." Brook said darkly. "I saw few young men following you through the forest. I guessed them to be fourteen or so. The perfect age to be terrified by talking skeleton walking towards them with a sword in his hand. Wouldn't you agree?" He asked as he laughed hysterically. His answer confirmed Robin's fears though. She had been followed from town. She hadn't expected her pursuers to be children though. She was relieved that Brook was able to scare them off though. He probably reinforced the legends of the forest being haunted too. Brook continued talking but Robin tuned him out remembering her excursion into town. No little kids stood out in her memory, but she could remember the faces of every adult she saw with perfect clarity. She would have to be more careful next time. One thing still bothered her though. She tried to remember if anyone in town had mentioned the Vice Admiral that called this island home. There were several stores and even a street named after him, but no one mentioned him being on the island. Her thoughts were again interrupted by Brook poking her.

"Robin? Are you alright?" Brook asked snapping her back to the conversation. Brook laughed. "I am sorry. You spaced out on me there for a moment." Robin smiled. A loud thud from below deck stopped any further conversation between the two pirates. They turned in time to see the hatch leading to the lower deck open with a loud crash. Franky slowly pulled himself out of the hatch. He grabbed the top of the hatch and slammed it close. Robin couldn't help but laugh at his appearance.

The cyborg was soaking wet covered in saw dust. He had chunks of wood sticking out of his hair and a screwdriver was sticking out of his mouth. He looked particularly angry too. He spit out the screwdriver, which stabbed into the ground, and pointed at Robin and Brook.

"Hey you two! Where the hell is that little turd Usopp? I don't know what the hell he has been doing below deck but it's a freaking mess down there. There's freaking saw dust everywhere and he left the Solder Dock System door open. I fell in the damn water. Have you ever seen a SUPER cyborg fall into the water?! IT'S NOT A PRETTY SIGHT!" He shouted. Brook fell to the floor rolling with laughing and Robin giggled. Franky was about to yell again when Sanji came flying back. He landed on the deck near Robin.

"All done my darling." He said with a quick bow."Usopp is on his way here now." He motioned towards Chopper's office. "I guess we should leave Chopper alone and I wouldn't dare enter the library while Nami-swan is working. So other than Franky this is all we have." He looked over at Franky. "Oh hey Franky, Robin wants you up on deck. She needs to talk to everyone. So get your ass up there." He raised an eyebrow at the cyborg. "You look like hell. Did you get into an argument with a pile of wood?" He asked seriously. Franky looked at Sanji.

"I'm already talking to her! Open your eyes dammit!" Franky shouted. Usopp climbed up the ladder onto the deck. He was out of breath.

"Dammit Sanji!" He said as he struggled to catch his breath. "If this is so important, why did you make me run all back? Couldn't you have carried me?" Sanji shook his head and walked over to Robin.

"No. I don't carry men." He said motioning towards Robin. "I will only carry a lady as I carry her into the sunset. After a romantic picnic on the beach-"

"Anyway," Franky said stopping Sanji before he could continue. As he spoke he began pulling chunks of wood out of his hair. "The cook said you wanted to see everyone right Robin?" Robin nodded.

"Yes. We have a problem that could easily escalate if we do not deal with it soon. Zoro is still on the island. We don't know where he is and I don't think that he will be able to find his way back on his own." Brook coughed.

"Pardon me Robin, but I saw Zoro walking towards the northern side of the island while I was on my way here." Sanji lifted his foot and fired a kick at Brook which he dodged with a laugh.

"You freaking moron! You told us that you never saw him!" Brook shrugged.

"I forgot." Sanji roared and fired more kicks at the skeleton which were easily dodged. Robin wasn't sure if he was actually trying to hit him or not. She cleared her throat and smiled.

"Well that gives us an area to start looking. Thank you Brook. The five of us will search the northern section of the island slowly widening our search area until one of us finds him." Everyone except Sanji and Brook agreed. "Now before we leave, I have to tell you why it is so important to avoid an altercation with the Navy on this island." Sanji and Brook stopped fighting as the crew listened intently to Robin. She told them about the Vice Admiral and how much of a threat he was to them. As she finished, Usopp and Brook were shaking in fear. Sanji stood silent with his cigarette, contemplating what Robin had just told them. Franky nodded pushing his sunglasses up onto his forehead.

"Okay, so find the swordsman before the Navy does. Got it." Franky said. "This Vice Admiral sound like bad news though." Sanji spoke up.

"I'll say. His Devil Fruit sounds like trouble. Robin, do you know if he is on the island or not?" Robin shrugged.

"Hopefully not. His power may be more than we can handle at this point. Its best if just avoided any chance of meeting him." Everyone agreed and set off to search for Zoro. Only two of the group stayed behind while the others made their way to the island. It was a race against time. Zoro had to be found.

* * *

"This is a waste of my damn time." Sanji said as he calmly strolled through the forest. He looked up towards the tops of the trees. He could see sunlight peeking through the leaves. He sighed and continued walking. "I say we leave Mosshead out here by himself. Maybe he will learn something about letting moss grow on his brain." Sanji gritted his teeth. He had a headache and this search wasn't helping. But this is what Robin wanted. If she wanted to bring Zoro back unharmed, then Sanji was going to do everything he could to bring him back unharmed. Mostly unharmed. As he walked, a chill ran up his spine. "What Robin said bothers me too." As he replayed her words in his head, a voice appeared from the forest.

"Oh, it's only eyebrows. I don't care then." Zoro said as he walked right past Sanji. Sanji was so lost in thought that he didn't even register Zoro's presence. The distance between the two men grew. Suddenly Sanji froze. He spun around and pointed at Zoro.

"HEY YOU IDIOT WAIT!" Sanji shouted. He broke into a run as he chased Zoro. Zoro ignored him and kept walking. Sanji ran past him and stepped in front of him to cut off his walk. "Oi Mosshead! Robin wants you back at the ship. I don't know why she cares so much but she's worried about you. If you were a real man you wouldn't make her worry so much!" Sanji scolded. He stood staring at the place where Zoro had been a second ago. It took him several seconds to realize that Zoro was gone. Sanji spun around and saw Zoro had taken a random left turn. "What the hell?!" He grumbled as he ran after Zoro again. He ran ahead of Zoro again and cut him off again. "Did you really just walk past me without listening to a word I said?!" Zoro nodded.

"Yep. And I'm going to do it again. I don't have time to stand here and be lectured by you about my relationship." He said without looking at Sanji. Zoro stepped around Sanji and kept walking. Stunned, Sanji could only stand there staring forward. Zoro stopped in front of a large tree. He scratched his head. "Damn. Have I been here already? No, probably not." Zoro turned and started walking again. Sanji face palmed and turned to face Zoro.

"Are you seriously this dense?" He asked in shock. "I think you're worse than Luffy." Sanji sighed and ran to catch up to Zoro. Instead of stepping in front of the wandering swordsman, Sanji opted to grab his shirt and stop him from walking. "Okay fine. I'll talk so you can understand me: You. Go. Back. Ship. Sweet. Robin. Worried." Zoro smacked Sanji hand away and violently pointed at him.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?!" He shouted. "I would have been back by now if you weren't constantly bugging me!" Sanji let out a short fake laugh.

"You can't blame your stupidity on me! If you have no sense of direction, that's not my fault! I'm only here to bring you back to the ship." Zoro huffed and began walking again.

"I don't need your help to find our ship! Go catch a beetle and make some spider dinner would you?!" Zoro yelled as he continued walking. Sanji face turned red with anger and he lunged at Zoro.

"That's it! I am going to kick your ass right here right now!" He shouted and lunged at Zoro. Zoro randomly turned again and Sanji sailed past him slamming into a tree. The tree fell over crushing several smaller trees as it fell. It slammed into the ground with a reverberating crash. Sanji poked his head out of the mess of trees.

"Ahh Robin. I found you." Zoro said politely. Sanji picked himself out of the pile of trees watched Robin and Zoro walking in the direction of the Sunny arm in arm chatting away happily. Sanji sighed in annoyance and stood up dusting himself off. He lit another cigarette and began following the pair through the forest. Mission accomplished.

* * *

Nami sighed happily and took off her glasses. "Perfect. All done." She stood up and stretched. She walked over to the window and looked outside. "Wow the sun isn't even setting yet. I finished those really fast." She turned away from the window and walked back to her desk. She looked at the mess that she had left in her wake. Papers and pencils littered the floor, and rulers and straight edges were tossed in every direction. "Holy crap." She said aloud. "I was seriously focused on finishing my charts. I didn't even realize that I made this much of a mess." She spent the next few minutes cleaning and organizing her desk. The whole time she was cleaning, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was forgetting something. Suddenly it hit her. Nami spun around to see if Luffy had woken up. She was surprised to see that he was no longer where she left him. The couch was empty and Luffy was nowhere to be seen. "Huh." She said. "When did he leave...I don't remember him getting up or walking out." A look of worry crossed her face. "I hope he didn't try to talk to me. I was so focused on my charts that he probably thought I was ignoring him." She walked over to the ladder that led up to the bathroom. She climbed the ladder and peaked around. No Luffy there either. "So he had to have walked out the door back onto deck." She jumped off the ladder and headed for the door. "That moron has probably been ambushed by those morons again. He shouldn't have left the library." She stopped and smiled. "Then again, it IS Luffy. He hates being bored. If I was ignoring him, then he would have left to find something else to entertain himself." She shrugged and walked out into the afternoon sunlight. She stretched again as she felt the warm light hit her body. She listened for any sound that could have been Luffy in trouble, but all she heard was talking. Nami walked to the steps that led back onto deck and gazed down. Usopp and Franky were standing on the grass deck talking. Franky was a mess and looked angry about something. No Sanji, No Robin, No Zoro, No Brook, No Chopper, and No Luffy. Where was everyone? She proceeded down the stairs and onto the grass deck. She stopped for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the grass between her toes. After a few seconds, she continued and called out to the two men.

"Hey Franky, Usopp?" Both men stopped talking and turned towards the young woman. "Are you guys the only ones on board?" Franky nodded.

"Sure are, wait..." He scratched his head for moment thinking. "No, Chopper is in his office. Other than him and you yeah. Just SUPER us." Nami sighed happily knowing that Chopper was so dedicated to finding a way to help Luffy. Not knowing where he was worried Nami though. She wished that he had stayed with her in the library. Usopp cleared his throat.

"Yeah, everyone else left to find Zoro. He's lost on the island. We didn't want to bother you about it though." He said shrugging. Nami scowled.

"That idiot!" She stomped her foot. "Doesn't he realize that we are way too close to a Navy base for him to be wandering off?! He's going to lead them right to us!" She said angrily. Franky laughed.

"If he can find his way back. That's why everyone thought it was SUPER important to go and look for him." Franky walked over to the railing. "Well now that you are here, I guess I'll go and help the search. They are taking way too long anyway. I'll be back later. LONGNOSE! Don't. Touch. Anything!" He threatened as he jumped of the deck and landed on something next to the ship. Nami heard the sound of the Mini Merry heading towards the island. She shook her head and turned to walk away. She was hungry. She figured she could find something to munch on and then go find Luffy. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stopped. She turned around and looked back at Usopp. He was sitting on the bench that surrounded the main mast.

"Hey Usopp, why aren't you out there helping too?" She asked. He shrugged.

"I came down with Too-close-to-a-Navy-base-itis this morning. It's best if I stayed here where it's safe." He said proudly.

"Ugh whatever." Nami said shaking her head. "I don't care do whatever you want." She walked up the stairs massaging her temples. As she approached the kitchen she heard a loud thud from the doctor's office. Puzzled by the sudden noise, she made her way to Chopper's office and knocked on the door. She waited for a response but got none. "Hey Chopper, You okay in there?" She asked as she opened the door slowly. She pushed the door open and walked in. Nami gasped at the sight that she found in front of her.

Chopper's office was a mess. His desk had been overturned and papers littered the floor. His chair looked like it had been thrown against the far wall and the little reindeer himself was huddled in a corner crying. Nami ran over to him and kneeled down next to him. "Chopper! What's going on? What's wrong?" Chopper shook his head.

"No. Nami...I...I can't do it." He said as tears streamed down his face. "I can't...I'm not..." the rest of his sentence was lost among his sobs. Nami was confused.

"Can't what?" She asked cautiously.

"I...I...can't do it. I promised, but I can't." He was sobbing uncontrollably but Nami couldn't help him without knowing what he meant.

"Chopper its okay. Just calm down and tell me what's wrong." She said reaching forward. She tried to hug Chopper but he cried out before she could.

"I can't heal Luffy!" He shouted pushing Nami away. She fell backwards and landed on her butt. Chopper stood up and transformed into his Heavy Point. "I CAN'T DO IT! I DONT HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT THAT DAMNED VEGAPUNK HAS! HOW CAN I EVER HOPE MATCH HIS WORK WITHOUT HIS DATA, WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE! Chopper roared and punched a wall, breaking a large hole in it. Sunlight poured into the room illuminating the massive reindeer. He stood there breathing heavily for a few seconds before reverting back to his original form. He grabbed his hoof that he had punched the wall with. "ow..." He said quietly. Nami sat stunned for a few seconds just watching the doctor. She blinked a few times before shaking her head.

"Chopper is that what you are so worked up about?" She pulled herself to her feet and took a step forward. She didn't want to get to close in case he went crazy again. Nami smiled. "That's okay. You don't need his research; you can find something on your own. You just as smart as Vegapunk is." Nami said sweetly trying to calm the reindeer down. Chopper's eyes snapped open and he pointed a hoof at Nami.

"No! You don't understand! It is impossible for me to trace his exact process. In order to reverse this poison, I need to know how it was made. I have no way of understanding a process that I know nothing about. It would take me literally years to replicate the Navy's results. Then I would have to find a way to reverse the process and." He sobbed as he grabbed his hat and pulled it down over his eyes. Tears started rolling down his face again. "I...I don't even know if I can reverse it." He let go of his hat and looked back up at Nami. "I don't have the lab, I don't have the research, I don't have a starting place. I...I don't have anything. I'm...I'm sorry Luffy!" Chopper began wailing as he fell forward crying again. Nami walked over and kneeled down next to Chopper trying to think of a way to calm him down. She was just about to speak when a voice calm echoed through the room. The sound of the voice even made Chopper stop crying.

"So, you guys can't fix me..." The voice said. Nami's blood ran cold and her head slowly rose to the whole in the wall that Chopper had made. On the other side of the ruined wall, stood Luffy, his hat tilted to cover his eyes. Her eyes widened in shock. "I see..." Luffy said coldly. Nami slowly began standing up.

"Luffy." She said quietly as she reached her hand out towards him. She was mortified. She had promised him that they could find a way to help him, and he had just heard Chopper say that there was nothing he could do. She broke her promise to him. She was nearly to her feet when Luffy spoke again.

"If you two can't help me..." He said quietly as if he was talking to himself. "Then I will have to help myself." Nami froze.

"Luffy, its okay, Choppers just a bit overwhelmed-" She was cut off by Luffy raising his hand.

"No. It's fine. You guys can't do it. I'm broken and you can't fix me. I get it." He said slowly. His eyes were still covered. Nami thought she saw a tear on his cheek but Luffy turned away before she could see it. Nami was about to speak again when Luffy cut her off. "I get it." He said again. Luffy raised his hand and placed it on top of his hat. He pulled it down further over his face. Nami stood half kneeling in silence, not sure what she should do. She stood up and glanced at the door. If she could get around to him, maybe she could do something. Nami began inching toward the door. She froze as Luffy spoke again. "You guys have your own dreams. All of you." His hands fell to his sides." You need a strong captain to help you reach your dreams." Luffy clenched his hands into fists. "I...I'm not strong. Not like this. I will only hold you guys back." Nami shook her head as she took another step towards the door.

"N. No. That's not true. You ARE a strong captain. OUR captain. Our friend...My boyfriend..." She said "You could never hold us back." Luffy let out a halfhearted laugh.

"What good am I? Who can I protect if I'm broken? A captain must be strong. And I'm not." Luffy began walking forward. "I'm sorry." He said and broke out into a run. Nami gasped and kicked the door down. She ran around the corner trying to catch Luffy.

"WAIT LUFFY STOP PLEASE!" She ran after him. Her eyes widened as she saw him standing on the railing at the back of the ship. "STOP PLEASE! DONT JUMP!" She screamed as she ran towards him. She knew that he was faster than her even without his powers. As she screamed again, Luffy bent his knees and pushed off the railing of the ship. He pushed himself off in the direction of the island. He fell towards the water. Nami screamed again. "LUFFY NO YOU CANT SWIM. STOP!" She ran into the railing and watched in horror as Luffy swam towards the island. Luffy quickly reached the shore and walked onto the sand. "LUFFY WAIT!" Nami screamed as she jumped over the railing and into the cold water. She swam as fast as she could towards the shore.

Nami's blood was racing as she ran onto shore and stood up. She was freezing now but she didn't care. She quickly scanned the shore trying to find Luffy. "LUFFY? WHERE ARE YOU?" She screamed at the island. As her eyes scanned the beach, her eyes fell upon something sitting in the sand. She ran over to it. As she grew closer, she realized what it was and fell into the sand inches from the object. She pulled herself to her knees and looked at the object. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at it. "no..." She whispered. It was Luffy's straw hat. It laid upside down in the sand, as if he had threw it to the ground before he disappeared. Nami reached forward and grabbed the brim of the hat. She slowly pulled it to herself. She stared at the hat as tears streamed down her face. "Luffy...no...please come back...don't go..." Nami whispered as she held the hat to her chest. She squeezed the hat tightly against her. Tears poured out of her eyes all over Luffy's hat. He was gone. He ran away leaving her behind. Luffy was gone.

Nami sat on the shore crying until the rest of the crew returned.

* * *

**End Chapter 8**


	9. Chapter 9: The Cove in Danger

**One Piece: The Agony of Weakness:**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when the crew members that had went onto the island to find Zoro finally returned to the Sunny. They came back to find Nami crying on the beach clutching Luffy's hat to her chest. Robin decided that it wasn't a good idea to try and get answers out of her, so they took her to the ship and decided to talk to the only other people that could help: Usopp and Chopper. Sanji, Franky, Brook and Zoro went to find them while Robin comforted Nami. The four men found their crew members inside of Chopper's ruined office. It was still a mess from Chopper's breakdown so he and Usopp were trying to clean it up. Sanji was the first one to step into the office.

"OI Usopp! Chopper! What the hell is going on?!" Sanji snapped as he stormed into the room. Usopp and Chopper jumped back, startled by Sanji's sudden entrance. Sanji's cigarette was burned intensely matching his furious demeanor. "What did you dumbasses do? We found my precious Nami on the beach crying her eyes out! I AM GOING TO KICK BOTH OF YOUR ASSES IF I FIND OUT THAT YOU TWO HURT HER!" He shouted stepping towards them. Usopp and Chopper forced themselves up against the back wall. They were too scared to answer Sanji's accusations. Sanji took this as an admission of guilt. He stepped forward to attack them, but Franky cut him off with his arm.

"Hold up there brother." Franky said calmly. "Scaring the SUPER shit out of these two won't help. Look at them." He said motioning towards the two men cowering in the corner. "They are so scared they can't even talk. That's no way to get info out of anyone. Try being nice to something without boobs for once." Franky smirked as he stepped in front of Sanji. He was about to speak again when his eyes were pulled toward the large hole in the wall. Franky's eyes widened as he realized that his precious ship had been damaged. As he stared, a large chunk of wood broke off and fell to the floor. He winced and slowly turned his head towards Usopp and Chopper. "Chopper...Usopp..." Franky said menacingly. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DUMBASSES DO TO MY SHIP?! LOOK AT THAT HOLE!" Usopp and Chopper were pushed up against the back wall that they were practically breaking the wall. They wanted to put as much room as possible between them and the angry cyborg. Franky's shouting was drowned out by Sanji as he jumped forward.

"HEY!" Sanji shouted as he pointed back towards the door. "Your damn wall isn't nearly as important as my Nami-swan! Forget that damned thing and be more worried about a beautiful lady for once!" Franky responded with even more yelling. As the two men continued shouting, a cold breeze drifted through the room. The cold breeze seemed to calm the raging men. The weather on the island was cold, but this breeze was colder than anything that they had seen since landing on the island. The breeze was as cold as death.

"Now gentlemen." Brook said as he calmly walked in between Franky and Sanji. His sword was drawn and pointing at the ground next to his feet. The cold air followed Brook as he walked and the men were able to see their breath in his wake. "There is no need for all this yelling. Something ill has occurred while we were away and our only source of information is cowering in the corner." Brook slowly resheathed his blade and turned to face Sanji and Franky. "Please calm down." Franky sighed and nodded. He went to examine the slowly growing hole in the wall. He put his hand on the wall and took a close look at the hole.

"Ehh, I guess it's not that bad." He said under his breath. He picked up a large piece of wall off the ground and frowned. Another piece broke off the wall and Franky visibly winced again. Brook nodded and turned to Sanji. Sanji closed his eyes and shook his head without another word. He took a long drag from his cigarette. Brook nodded and turned to Usopp and Chopper.

"So," He said as he walked over to the men and extended his hand to help them up. "What is going on? Why was Nami on the beach crying?" Usopp took Brook's hand and stood up. He spook first.

"I'm not entirely sure what happened." He said keeping a close eye on Sanji as he spoke. "I was sitting on deck after you guys left. I heard people talking, but I didn't think much of it." He shrugged. "Then I heard Nami screaming so I ran up here. By the time I got here, she was already swimming towards the island. She looked like she was in a panic." He shook his head and frowned. "I came in here to see if Chopper was okay. He was pretty shaken up too. That's all I know." Usopp said quietly. Sanji snapped is head around.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU GO AFTER-" He was cut off by Brook clearing his throat. Brook glared at Sanji for a moment then turned his head to Chopper.

"I see. Chopper? Can you fill us in?" Chopper stayed silent for a moment and then nodded. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"It's my fault… I told Nami there was nothing I could do for Luffy and he…he heard it. " Tears began welling up in the reindeer's eyes. "He knew that I couldn't help him. Luffy ran off and Nami ran after him. After that…" Choppers eyes shifted to the round and he couldn't finish his sentence. Brook nodded. Franky shifted his attention away from the wall.

"Then Luffy went to the island and ditched his hat along the way. Nami chased him and found his hat on the beach. I'm guessing we showed up not long after that." He shook his head and walked away from the wall. "This sucks. Luffy is out there alone and without his powers. Why couldn't he have done this while we were out there? Now we have to go back out there and find him before he does something stupid." Zoro, who had been leaning against the door frame this whole time, finally spoke.

"You're right." He stood up and walked out of the door. "We have to go find our captain. He's in no shape to be alone out there." Sanji laughed.

"No way Moss head! You aren't going anywhere." Sanji said pointing a finger at Zoro. "The last thing we need is you getting lost again. And I'm not comfortable leaving Nami alone on this ship with you. You might try to take advantage of her in her delicate condition. Besides, this is Luffy we are talking about. He will be fine. He's just upset. Give him a few hours and he will be back for dinner." Zoro glared at Sanji.

"Your lack of concern for our captain's safety sounds like mutiny to me." He said quietly. Before Sanji could respond, Franky stepped in between them.

"Not now you two. Do this another time." He motioned for everyone to follow him. He turned and walked out the door back onto deck. "Before we make any decisions, let see what Robin and Nami want to do." As they all exited the office, they heard a voice from below them on the grass deck.

"Hey morons, get down here. We have a serious problem." Nami called. She was standing on deck next to Robin. Her eyes were still red from crying but she seemed to be calm enough to yell at everyone. The men walked onto the deck and stood opposite the women. Once he stopped walking, Sanji noticed that Nami was wearing Luffy's straw hat. It hung around her neck, resting on her back. He guessed that that was where that hat was going to stay until they found Luffy. Nami shook her head. "You idiots are wasting time. While you are all up there yelling at each other, Luffy is in trouble. He's on the island and we need to find him." Nami ordered. Franky nodded.

"Okay, so how are we going to find him? Finding Zoro was SUPER easy since we knew what direction he went. We have no clue where Luffy went." Franky pointed out. Usopp jumped up.

"Oh I know! In order to find Luffy, we need to think like Luffy." He said heroically. He turned to Nami and stuck out his hand. "Nami quick! Give me Luffy's hat. That will help me solve is caper before anything scary happens!" Usopp froze in place as he looked into Nami's eyes. The young woman glared so ferociously at Usopp that it nearly hurt him. Usopp had crossed a line and he knew it. She looked like she was about to rip his face off. Usopp quickly dropped his hand as Nami spoke.

"No one touches his hat. It stays with me until we find him. Got it?" she growled. Usopp could hear the venom that dripped from every single word she spoke. He took a few steps back.

"S. sorry. Bad idea. Forget I said anything." He gulped. He still felt threatened so he quickly changed the subject. "Okay new plan. If I was Luffy, where would I go?" Brook jumped in the air raising his hand.

"Oh I know this one!" The skeleton said still jumping into the air. "If I was Luffy, I would find the closest place that had meat!" Brook laughed. Usopp and Chopper joined him.

Nami sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. As she was getting ready to yell at them again and continue, a voice echoed out across the ship.

"Excuse me?" The voice shouted. It was the voice of a young man. Zoro's hand instinctively went to the hilt of one of his swords and he turned towards the side of the ship where the voice had originated. He walked towards the railing with Nami following close behind. Sanji motioned for everyone else to stay quiet as he joined the others at the railing. Standing on the shore was a young man. Nami estimated him to be about 16 years old. As they stopped at the railing, the man spoke again. "Ah good someone's home. I was worried that I was calling to an empty ship." Zoro and Sanji glared at the stranger in silence. This was bad. Someone from town had found where they were hiding. If something wasn't done, this guy could run back to the town and tell everyone where they were. They would have the Navy on them within the hour. The man shifted uncomfortably. "Friendly people. Well if no one's going to speak, I guess I will. I was wondering if you could answer me a question." Sanji looked at Nami. She gave him a barely noticeable nod. Sanji chewed on his cigarette and looked back towards the man.

"What do you want?" Sanji asked. His expression was dead serious and his eyes never left the man. Sanji knew that this would only end badly.

"Well I was wondering if you guys have business on the island. We don't like strangers hanging around our sacred forest." He motioned to the forest around him. "This whole area is deeply sacred to our city. It's said that the souls of those who die on this island come here to rest." The man laughed. "Sorry I'm getting off subject. My point it, most travelers or merchants who come to this island do it through the main docks on the front of the island. No one ever hides like cowards in the woods that most people never enter. Now you guys have been hiding out here for a few days, and yes we have been watching you. The way we look at it," An evil smile came across the man's face. "Only one kind of person would hide like this. You people," he pointed his finger at Sanji. "Are pirates!" Zoro tightened his grip on the sword a bit and Nami tensed up but said nothing. Sanji never broke eye contact with the man.

"What if we are?" He asked sternly. The man laughed and scratched his head.

"Well then," The young man said with a devious smile. "I am going to bring the wrath of the marines down upon you and your ship." Nami gasped quietly and covered her mouth with her hand. She took a few steps back and threw the others a nervous glance. Sanji and Zoro looked at each other and nodded in understanding. Zoro slid his sword back into its sheath. They both knew exactly what they should say.

"Then it's a good thing we aren't pirates." Zoro said closing his eyes. He silently apologized to Luffy. He knew that Luffy would be furious about them hiding the fact that they were pirates. However, until they could find him, they couldn't leave. Zoro and Sanji had to stall for as much time as possible. Zoro began explaining to the man that they were simple travelers while Sanji glanced back at Nami.

"Nami, Robin," He said quietly. "We need to find Luffy now. Can you go into the forest and find him?" Both women nodded in unison. Sanji smiled at the girls and then glanced over to Usopp. His smile faded. "Usopp, go with them." Usopp jumped back in surprise.

"ME?! Why me?!" He asked, his voice shaking. "Why can't someone else go?" Sanji turned and stared at Usopp. They didn't have time for him to screw around.

"Because you're faster than the others. I'm sure this guy is with the marines, so he already knows who we are." He motioned to Zoro. "I need Franky, Brook, Chopper and Moss head here to defend the ship if they come looking for us. You and the girls can find Luffy faster than anyone else can." He turned back to the railing and walked forward. Robin and Nami ran towards the opposite railing. Usopp began to object but decided against it. He nodded and joined them. Sanji looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Now go. Find Luffy and get back here as soon as you can. We will stay here for as long as we can." Nami, who had just begun to climb over the railing, stopped and looked at Sanji.

"Woah wait, what does that mean!?" She snapped at him. Sanji and Zoro were already at the other railing staring at the stranger. He didn't answer her. Nami started walking forward. "Hey Sanji, what do you mean you will stay here as long as you can? Answer me!" Someone behind Nami laid their hand on her shoulder.

"Come on Miss Navigator," Robin said calmly. "We don't know how long we have until the marine's storm this cove. We need to find Luffy quickly and get back." Nami bit her lower lip and hesitated. After a moment she nodded. Nami followed Robin over to the other side of the ship. They joined Usopp and the three of them jumped over the railing and landed on the shore. They ran off into the forest to find their Captain and bring him home.

Sanji watched as the women jumped over the railing. He sighed once they were out of view. He turned to Zoro. While he had been talking to the crew, the man had left.

"Hey Moss head," He said and Zoro grunted in response. "How long do you think we have?" Zoro turned and walked back towards the center of the ship.

"Not long." He drew two of his swords. "That guy is going straight to the Navy Base. I'm sure of it." He lifted his sword and pointed at the forest. "This whole cove is going to be overrun but sunset." Brook and Franky joined them. Franky spoke up first.

"Not to make this SUPER situation more complicated, but we aren't exactly in a good position to be fighting." Zoro was about to respond when Franky continued. "Geologically speaking. Think about it: This cove only has two exits. If the Navy blocks both of them, we are seriously screwed." Chopper shook in fear.

"B. but Franky, couldn't you just Coup de Burst us through the trees? I mean there aren't that many trees between us and the open sea." Chopper asked hopefully. Franky shook his head.

"I doubt it. These trees are pretty thick. Sure we could try, but we would probably damage the hull of the ship. Besides, even if we did make it though, we wouldn't fly as far. We would still be easy prey for the marines." He sighed. "No the only way we are going to be able to make it out of here is through one of the two openings. I hate to say it, but we may have screwed ourselves by coming in here." Sanji nodded.

"Exactly. So we can only wait for the girls in the cove for so long. If it gets too hot in here, we will need to move out to the open sea. Preferably before they seal us in." Sanji gritted his teeth in anger. "I hate the idea of making this any harder for the girls, but we have no choice. If the Sunny sinks, we are all done for." Zoro laughed.

"What the useless cook said." He said as he raised one of his swords to the sky. "We need to hold this position as long as possible." He lowered his sword so that it was pointing back towards the island. "Bring it on Marines. I'll cut every last one of you to ribbons." He stated with an evil grin.

* * *

Sharp branches scratched at Nami's legs as she ran through the forest. She felt her skin slice open in a few places but she ignored it. She had to find Luffy as soon as possible. It had been less than an hour since he took off but he could be anywhere on the island by now. She didn't have time to be worried. They were in a race against time, and time was winning. As she ran, Nami heard Usopp making noises behind her. He was whining about the sharp branches and darkness of the forest floor. He was saying something to her, but she decided to ignore him.

"Hey Nami!" Usopp called frantically. "This is ridiculous. We are going too fast. If he is in the forest somewhere, we will run right past him at this rate." Nami chose not to respond and continued running. Usopp grew more annoyed. "Hey Nami!" He called again. He received the same response as before. As much as it annoyed her to admit it, Nami knew that Usopp was right. Luffy could have been sitting at the base of a tree somewhere and she would have completely missed him. However, if he saw her running through the forest like a maniac, he would stop her. She was sure of it.

Nami's thoughts were broken when her foot caught a root that was sticking out of the ground. It snagged her foot and she fell to the ground with a dull thud. Pain shot through her shoulder as it drug through some small rocks on the rough forest floor. She knew that her shoulder was cut up pretty badly from the fall, but that didn't matter. Nami picked herself up and steadied herself. She glanced at her shoulder. It was red and the skin was broken. Blood was oozing out of it but she ignored it. She quickly realized that Usopp was standing next to her.

"Hey Nami!" Usopp called waving his hand in front of her face. "Are you in there? Are you okay? That was a nasty fall." Nami blinked and focused on him. She reached her hand up to her shoulder and rubbed it. She felt warm blood coating her fingers.

"Uh...Yeah. Sorry." She nodded letting go of her shoulder. "Come on lets go!" She said as she started to run again. Her run was halted when Usopp grabbed her arm.

"Woah there. I am trying to make sure you are okay here." Usopp said holding onto her arm. "Just hold up for a sec would ya?" Nami huffed and turned to glare at Usopp.

"We don't have time to wait. I'm fine and we need to find Luffy now!" She said smacking his arm away. She turned to start running again when she saw an eye and mouth on a nearby tree.

"Miss Navigator, Long nose," Robin's disembodied mouth said. It was at the moment that Nami remembered that Robin wasn't with them anymore. Robin had decided to fill the forest with her eyes and ears rather than run around the entire island like an idiot. "We don't have much time. I found Luffy. He's to the south of you right now. It looks like he's heading for the Navy base! " She said, her voice filled with distress.

"THE NAVY BASE?!" Usopp screamed. Nami's blood ran cold.

"Why is he heading there?!" She exclaimed. "That's practically suicide!" Robin's eye closed.

"I have no idea." Robin admitted. "I tried talking to him, but he completely ignored me. I tried grabbing him but he dodges my hands before they grab him. Without actually being there I can't get him. Nami, you have to go and get him." Nami looked at robin confused.

"Just me? What, aren't you guys coming?" Nami asked. Robin's eye opened.

"No. While I was scouting the forest, I found a small army of Marines marching through the woods. They looked like they are heading for the Sunny." She said coldly. Usopp screamed. "Clearly, they have been planning to march on the cove for some time. Longnose and I need to go back to the ship to warn the others and help protect the ship." Nami shook her head.

"I. I can't!" She exclaimed. "Luffy's a lot stronger than me, I can't bring him home by myself." Robin's eye vanished but her mouth remained.

"It has to be you Nami. You know him better than anyone else ever has. He trusts you more than anyone else." Robin's mouth smiled. "He loves you." Robin said gently. "If you can't bring him home, then no one can." Nami closed her eyes. The wind blew through the trees and she felt Luffy's hat bouncing in the wind. Robin was right and Nami knew it. She thought about the last few days with Luffy and she smiled. He did love her and she loved him. Nami took a deep breath and looked up.

"You're right." Nami said. Her voice was focused and determined. She was going to bring him back, whether he liked it or not. She turned to Usopp "Get back to the ship and wait for us there." She smiled. "Luffy and I will be there soon." Usopp nodded.

"Are you going to be okay?" Usopp asked. Nami nodded.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me." She shooed him away with her hands. "Now go. Keep the ship safe for us." Usopp wished her luck and ran back towards the ship. Nami looked back at Robin's mouth but instead saw an arm pointing to the right. Nami smiled and nodded. She turned and began running faster than before. She knew where he was, and she was coming for him. "Wait for me King of the pirates!" She shouted. "Your queen is coming to bring you home!"

* * *

**End Chapter 9**


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